Adding more ethanol to petrol would slash emissions, claim MPs

INCREASING the amount of ethanol in petrol sold in the UK would cut carbon emissions by the equivalent of taking 700,000 cars off the road, a report has said.

The study by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for British bioethanol looked at the impact of introducing E10 — a fuel blended with 10% ethanol and designed to be less harmful to the environment — in the UK.

Petrol sold in the UK currently contains up to 5% ethanol to reduce carbon. Nic Dakin (right), chairman of the APPG, said introducing E10 was a “no-brainer” and could address several environmental issues, including the threat of climate change and poor air quality.

The report also claims that without it being introduced by 2020 at the latest, the UK’s bioethanol industry could continue to decline and be lost, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs.

Mr Dakin, Labour MP for Scunthorpe, said the Government had long stated its ambition to achieve 10% renewable fuels in transport, but he blamed Brexit for distracting it from taking action.

The Department for Transport (DfT) launched a consultation last year on proposals to encourage larger forecourts to sell E10 to help the UK meet climate change targets.

A spokesman said: “We are committed to supporting cleaner and greener fuels, and we recognise the important role they have to play in decarbonising transport. Following our call for evidence on E10, we intend to publish our next steps in due course.”

Last year analysis by motoring research charity the RAC Foundation found that many popular family cars are not compatible with E10.