Biofuel analysis: Current production is "unethical"

A report on bioethics published by the Nuffield Council has declared that current production is "unethical".

Following an 18-month biofuel analysis, the organisation has found that UK and European policies on this type of energy need to be improved.

Among the issues cited is the need for more incentives to produce ethical biofuels, which would sidestep some of the issues associated with them.

These include human rights in the developing world and deforestation.

Leader of the inquiry Professor Joyce Tait notes that while biofuels are an important alternative to diesel and petrol, the current processes used to develop them must change.

Professor Otteline Leyser, who contributed in the writing of the report, states: "Researchers are developing new types of biofuels that need less land, produce fewer greenhouse gases and do not compete with food, but commercial-scale production is many years away."

She adds that it is the responsibility of the government to do more to encourage ethical biofuels.

As such, the Nuffield Council suggests that ethical guidelines should be implemented to govern European biofuel production.

A recent study published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy showed that the addition of nanoparticles can enhance the combustion of biodiesel.