Biofuels (Hansard, 7 October 2003)

§ Mr. Paice
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the funding necessary to enable the UK to meet the EU targets of(a) 2 per cent. biofuels by 2005 and (b) 5.75 per cent. by 2010. [131717]

§ Mr. Jamieson
The EU's Biofuels Directive requires member states to set their own indicative targets for sales of biofuels to be met in the years 2005 and 2010. The Government will be consulting early next year on the level of targets that might be appropriate for the UK, and on the steps that we might take to meet them. In doing so, we will take full account of the likely costs and benefits to the UK, and of the level of Government support that might be necessary.

§ Mr. Paice
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds he has provided for the promotion and development of(a) sustainable liquid biofuels and (b) fossil gas fuels for road transport in the last three years. [131718]

§ Mr. Jamieson
The Government have supported biofuels since July 2002 by means of a 20 pence per litre duty incentive which has resulted in sales of biodiesel increasing to over 2 million litres a month from virtually nothing before that date. Biodiesel is used mainly in a 5 per cent. blend with conventional diesel, and bio-blend 187W fuel already represents some 2 per cent. of diesel sales. Vehicles do not need to be converted to run on 5 per cent. bio-blend diesel.
In addition to this, the Government have funded a number of research projects into aspects of biofuels, including their emissions performance. The Government will be consulting early in 2004 on possible targets for biofuels sales in the UK and on how best to meet these targets.
In the last three financial years. 2002–01 to 2002–03, the Energy Saving Trusts' TransportEnergy Powershift programme has provided grants of around £12.6 million for the purchase or conversion of vehicles to run on road fuel gases (natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas). The duty rate for the gases has since Budget 2001 been 9 pence per kilogramme. The Government have been consulting key stakeholders on how best to ensure that future support continues to reflect environmental and other policy objectives, with a view to announcing decisions in the 2003 pre-Budget report.