When US President George W Bush warns of his country’s dangerous petrol “addiction” and talks admiringly about soybean-generated power, it is clear that the argument about dependence on fossil fuels, if not their environmental impact, has been won.

The motivation for developing alternative methods of fuelling cars may be a reaction to $70-a-barrel oil prices and the continuing instability of producing regions, but the implications could help tackle climate change and pollution.

Closer to home, road vehicles currently account for more than 20 per cent of all UK carbon dioxide emissions, most of which comes from passenger cars. If unchecked, the coming decades will see road transport’s share of total CO2 emissions rise in comparison with other sources such as power plants.

Low-carbon car technologies and fuels present car-manufacturers, fuel-suppliers and the government with one of the principal means of reducing CO2 emissions from road transport and enhancing fuel diversity.
With climate change and fuel-supply security high on the government’s agenda, ministers are looking at a range of measures to encourage their increased use.

The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), under which at least five per cent of all fuel sold by 2010 will have to come from biofuels, comes into effect in April 2008.
The oil industry is expected to comply by selling a blend which will comprise 95 per cent diesel or petrol and five per cent biofuel – a rise of three per cent on current levels.

The five per cent blend will be enough to reduce Britain’s emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, by more than one per cent by 2010.

The main source of biofuel is ethanol which is produced from sugar cane, mainly in Brazil, where almost all cars have run on it for decades. Ethanol is free of pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, while the carbon dioxide emissions it produces can be cancelled out by growing another sugar cane plant.

Transport minister Stephen Ladyman has promised that a package of government support for biofuels will give the industry the necessary confidence to invest in new production facilities. He also has said that the RTFO is “only a first step”.

Ladyman told a recent conference: “In the longer term we have to make carbon and environmental performance an integral part of the scheme – perhaps by setting longer-term carbon targets for the RTFO rather than volume-based targets, and by only allowing biofuels which meet certain minimum environmental standards to qualify for certificates under the obligation.”

This approach should give incentives to the producers of ‘second-generation’ biofuels, and the government wants the scheme to help promote tomorrow’s biofuel technologies and encourage innovation.

Another part of the strategy is to encourage the use of hybrid cars, which work by charging a battery using a petrol motor that is far more efficient than a traditional engine.

Additional power to the battery comes from kinetic energy from the wheels when the car is slowing down. A petrol engine provides extra power for the car when required.

These vehicles are becoming more popular as the technology improves. The government is hoping that a hybrid strategy of its own – encouraging and legislating – will ensure that the industry responds to the new challenges.

The prime minister has added his weight to the drive. “We now all recognise the vital role of technology in finding a sustainable solution to climate-change... where cutting carbon emissions goes hand in hand with continued prosperity,” says Tony Blair. “This needs a new understanding of the economic, technological and business opportunities from a low-carbon, energy-efficient path.”

With the Conservatives under David Cameron also stressing their renewed commitment to environmental issues, the future looks increasingly likely to be dominated by these kinds of fuels and vehicles.