As of last week the law changed in the UK increasing the biofuel content of petrol and diesel to a minimum of 2.5%. This new law has come under fire in the week it came into force.

The Government announced the move as a way to force motorists “to fill their tanks with Bio fuels”. But it is more the case that we are being forced to play our part in helping the Government to meet it’s emissions targets?

Experts, Scientists and campaigners have all said it will do more harm than good.

Greenpeace stated that the new rules will “drive rainforest destruction and could actually accelerate global warming”.

Greenpeace campaigner Belinda Fletcher explained: “Right now, rainforests are being destroyed to make way for biofuel crops in places like Indonesia.

“This destruction leads to massive greenhouse gas emissions and completely undermines the point of these so-called green fuels.”

The RSPB, Friends of the Earth and Oxfam have also voiced their concerns about the new law. Oxfam described it as “reckless”.

Despite the growing evidence against Bio fuels use, the Government pushed ahead and introduced the law as part of its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

Once again the UK Government ignores the evidence presented to them and steam rolls through new legislation without fully examining the environmental impact.

By 2010 all fuel sold in the UK will have 5% of the so called eco friendly fuel added, bringing the UK in line with European legislation.

However, motorists can still avoid putting biofuel into their “so called” Hybrid cars.

In a move that was supposed to protect against fluctuations in biofuel prices, the Government has given suppliers the option to pay a ‘buy-out’ price in respect of some or all of their biofuel obligation.

In defence of the new law, which the Government says will save 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 by 2010, a Department for Transport spokesman said: “The UK has gone further than any other country to give fuel suppliers a real incentive to produce sustainable biofuels that do not harm the environment.

“Suppliers are required to produce sustainability reports, including information on where their biofuel crops come from and the level of carbon savings made.”

But Greenpeace pointed out that the reporting process is not robust enough.

“Suppliers are only required to ‘report’ the details of the crops they are using.

“This process can be easily manipulated to hide the true origin of environmentally damaging crops like palm oil,” said a spokesman.

Government ministers, including transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick, rallied to support the law amid the growing criticism.

He said: “We must do all we can to ensure Bio ethanol fuels are produced sustainably. Eco fuels must be looked upon as long term projects as there is no quick fix.

“We know people are concerned about the environmental risks associated with expanding bio fuel production and we take those concerns very seriously.”

The questions that must be asked are numerous. Why is there not more weight being put into the development of hydrogen engines? Is this new law nothing more than a stop-gap to ensure emissions targets are met? Has the UK Government got it completely wrong in implementing a short term plan, rather than looking for sustainable fuel sources that produce zero emissions?