Biofuel a 'false solution'

Encouraging the use of biofuels to reduce carbon emissions is a"waste of time and money", a Canterbury researcher says.

Under the Government's climate change policy, biofuels must make up 3.4 per cent of fuel companies' sales by 2012.

The director of the Advanced Energy and Material Systems Lab at Canterbury University, Susan Krumdieck, said setting targets for biofuels was a waste of time.

"Focusing on consuming more biofuels doesn't reduce our carbon emissions. If they want to set a target it should be a fossil fuel consumption target."

Biofuels were giving false comfort to people wanting to do something positive for the environment, she said.

"Marketers have figured out people want to do something, and I want them to do something too, but I don't want them to be sold a false solution," Krumdieck said.

A new biofuel went on sale at Gull petrol stations around Auckland on Wednesday.

The fuel, Gull Force 10, is a blend of petrol with 10 per cent bioethanol made from whey, a natural byproduct of the dairy industry, supplied by Fonterra.

Krumdieck said turning milk products into ethanol involved burning a lot of coal, and cows themselves produced large amounts of methane, a much more harmful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

"We really aren't reducing our carbon footprint by putting ethanol in our tanks."

New Zealand had other options for producing biofuels, such as converting canola or rape seed oil, but this also involved a lot of energy, she said.

"The question is do we want to shift what we use it for now to put it into SUVs and drive to the video store?" Krumdieck said.

Climate Change Minister David Parker said biofuels were just part of the Government's plan to reduce carbon emissions, which included encouraging cycling and walking and use of public transport.

"The transport sector is the only sector of the economy in New Zealand that does not use renewable energy in any significant quantity."

Studies had shown a significant reduction in carbon emissions from New Zealand sources of biofuels, he said.

"EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) is starting to investigate ways that information about the sustainability of various biofuels can be provided to the public, so that in the future they can make decisions at the pump about which biofuels are best for the environment."