§ 15. Mrs. Helen ClarkTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the financial incentives necessary to achieve(a) 2 per cent. take-up by the end of 2005 and (b) 5.75 per cent. take-up by the end of 2010 of biodiesel and bioethanol road fuel. [124657]
§ John HealeyMy hon. Friend is referring to the European Commission's suggested indicative targets for the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels. Member states are required to set their own indicative targets to be met in the years 2005 and 2010, and we will be consulting key stakeholders in due course on what these targets might be and on the most appropriate ways of meeting them, so that our decisions are based on a proper assessment of the costs and benefits.
We have already put in place a number of measures to give incentive to the production and use of biofuels in the UK. In his Budget statement, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced that, from 1 January 2005, we would introduce a duty incentive for bioethanol, set at 20 pence per litre below the rate for sulphur-free petrol. Biodiesel already benefits from a duty incentive of 20 pence per litre below the rate for ultra-low sulphur diesel.