The news source noted that there is growing frustration worldwide over the use of food sources for the production of biofuels. The use of such biofuels by developed countries is reportedly causing a food crisis for subsistence-level populations around the world.
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) directive requires all oil companies to blend the petrol and diesel they sell in the UK with at least the minimum prescribed amount of biofuel.
Critics of the directive say that while the government is pushing aggressively for the implementation of biofuels, there are no standards or checks in place to guarantee that these biofuels are not the product of environmentally untenable agriculture.
Defending their government’s decision to implement the directive, UK ministers have insisted that the RTFO will put the country on the right path to addressing wider environmental issues by requiring suppliers of biofuels to disclose the origin of the fuel and the expected carbon savings.
The UK will reportedly have to produce or import around 2.5 billion liters of biofuel each year in order to sustain the RTFO.
