Biofuels must play an important part in Northern Ireland’s energy supply - Nicholson
Commenting on the Secretary of State’s speech today where he said that Northern Ireland must lead the way in developing an alternative energy strategy UUP MEP Jim Nicholson said that Biofuels can and should become an important part of our energy supply in Northern Ireland and Europe, but slammed the British government for failing in its responsibility to promote environmentally-friendly fuels.
In a statement Mr Nicholson said,
“While biofuels are not the only answer to our energy concerns, they should be an integral part of easing them.
“Biofuels are good for our environment, good for our agriculture industry and would reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
“The European Commission has set out its own action plan for increasing the use of biofuels but the British government’s approach appears to be in disarray. The European Commission issued a warning to the United Kingdom last year because it was failing to reach its agreed biofuels targets. Only 0.3% of the UK petrol and diesel market was taken by biofuels in 2005 when the EU’s target was 2%.
“The European Commission has formally rebuked the UK for failing to meet its biofuels targets. Britain’s next target is to replace five percent of our forecourt fuels with biofuels by 2010. Unless the government stops paying lip service to its biofuels commitments and puts in place a strategy, we will fail to reach that target too.
“Northern Ireland’s farmers are looking for innovative markets in which they can expand and biofuels could provide new business opportunities. However, farmers will not want to move into producing crops for fuel unless the government starts to take this important sector seriously.”