The Renewable Energy Directive (RED), put in place by the European Union will come into effect by the beginning of 2011. It sets the UK a target of 15% renewable energy in the overall energy supply. Meeting these targets will be crucial if the UK is to begin making the difficult transition to a low carbon economy and meet the government’s commitments to reduce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The transport sector is responsible for a large proportion of the UK’s carbon emissions and under the RED the UK is set specific targets for using renewable energy specifically in transport. By 2020, 10% of energy used in land transport (including both road and rail) must come from renewable sources.
Although technologies like electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells may hold promise in the future, in the short and medium term it seems unlikely that either will account for any substantial proportion of UK vehicles.
In the short term, if we are to achieve substantial reductions in transport carbon emissions, it seems that bio-fuels could be one of the best and most practical ways of achieving them.