Member Article

Government urged to encourage 'green pumps'

A North East car retailer has called on the Government to do more to encourage the use of environmentally friendly bio-ethanol fuel. Patterson Ford’s Managing Director Ashley Winter has pointed out that only 14 filling stations in the country currently sell the crop-derived fuel, and that there are no bio-ethanol pumps in the North East.

The Environment Secretary and South Shields MP David Miliband recently launched a CO2 Calculator which allows people to monitor their carbon footprint from home energy, appliances and transport.� The Government says by 2010, 5% of all fuel sold in the UK must come from a renewable source. At the moment, according to the Department of Transport, that figure is just 1%.

Mr Winter said: “The Government says it is doing all it can to encourage us to reduce our carbon emissions. But, as far as the 5% target is concerned, I do not see how it can be reached in less than three years unless the Government acts to make sure there are more bio-ethanol pumps. Car companies are accused of damaging the environment and not trying to do anything about it. Ford is producing the Focus flexifuel, which is a similar price as a normal Focus, but until motorists can fill up with bio-ethanol fuel there is no real incentive to buy it.”

Bio-ethanol is alcohol obtained from fermentation of raw materials containing starch and sugar, for example wood residues, crops or sugar beet, or other biomass (waste organic matter, which can be animal or vegetable).

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .