Biofuels: Ferries

(asked on 7th September 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential effect on the UK's levels of net greenhouse gas emissions of amending the Energy Act 2004 to allow biofuel suppliers to claim Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates for biofuel supplied to ferries operating solely in UK inland waterways.


Answered by
Rachel Maclean Portrait
Rachel Maclean
This question was answered on 14th September 2021

The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) does not extend to fuels used in ferries, and there are no plans to widen the scheme so that biofuel supplied in ferries which operate solely on inland waterways would be eligible for Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates (RTFCs) under the RTFO scheme.

Earlier this year the Department consulted on changes to the RTFO including expansion to new transport modes. The consultation “The Role of the RTFO in Domestic Maritime” explains that whilst biofuels can have a role in reducing maritime emissions, it is the Government's current view that the RTFO should not be used to stimulate the uptake of biofuels in maritime transport.

The availability of biomass used to produce biofuels is limited, and these finite resources are best used in those sectors of the economy where greater greenhouse gas savings can be achieved, or sectors that have fewer decarbonisation options than maritime, such as aviation. Therefore, the main focus of our RTFO support is to maximise greenhouse gas emissions savings from biofuels in road transport and to grow the supply of renewable aviation fuels where biomass will be needed in the longer term.

The Department is supporting Research and Development in low emission shipping technologies for vessels, including inland waterways craft, and infrastructure as part of a £20m Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition.

More generally, to tackle the pollution levels around the River Thames and London the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) uses a combination of monitoring and modelling to annually assess air quality in the UK. This Modelling allows Defra to assess levels of pollutants both now and in future years in order to develop policies across government to continue to improve air quality in the UK. Additionally, the Mayor of London is responsible for air quality and transport strategies in the capital, including local air quality monitoring, and Transport for London is responsible for managing traffic on the river. Local Authorities also carry out their own assessments of air quality.

Reticulating Splines