Introducing E10 to petrol

This short paper summarises Transport and Environment (T&E’s) views of the questions posed by the consultation Introducing E10 to Petrol. T&E is Europe’s foremost sustainable transport think tank and NGO. It is a federation of almost 60 national organisations across Europe campaigning for greener transport and now has a team based in the UK. T&E has undertaken extensive research on biofuels and had considerable influence on the shape of the EU Renewable Energy Directive. Historically the UK has always adopted a cautious approach to biofuels that is shared by T&E. UK governments since the introduction of the RTFO have recognised the risks of uncontrolled growth in unsustainable, food-based, first generation fuels and previously opposed increasing targets in EU negotiations. The UK was the first country to introduce carbon and sustainability reporting and has always considered indirect land use change seriously limits the potential of crop-based biofuels. The proposed policy to increase the blending limit on ethanol and potentially raise biofuels targets are extremely retrograde. T&E recommends E10 is not introduced as proposed during 2021. Any future changes after this date should only proceed with appropriate sustainability safeguards and as part of a wider review of biofuels and bioenergy policy as part of the decarbonising transport strategy.