RSPB and English Nature call for mandatory biofuels certification
Mon 13 March 2006
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In an open letter to the Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, the RSPB and English Nature call on the Government to include a mandatory certification scheme for greenhouse gas reductions and minimum environment standards in the RTFO package which is expected to be announced shortly.
The letter points out that since carbon dioxide reductions are the main reason for the introduction of biofuels, any UK and EU support for them should be conditional on certified delivery of such reductions and the absence of other environmental harm.
If accreditation and environmental standards are not mandated at the outset, they say there is a real chance that greenhouse gas savings will not be achieved, or that they will be achieved at the expense of unacceptable damage to the environment.
In the letter, which is also copied to Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett, the RSPB/English Nature say that it should be possible to introduce a mandatory scheme by the proposed launch date of 2008.
The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership is continuning to play a leading role in the development of key environmental aspects of the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO). The LowCVP has conducted a feasibility study on the incorporation into the RTFO of a carbon certification and sustainability assurance scheme and is continuing to work with policy makers on the practical aspects of implementing such a scheme.
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