Michael Giberson
How far would you go to gain another $1 a gallon on fuel? As The Independent reports, some biofuel traders in Europe, in a little trick called “splash and dash”, are shipping biodiesel to the U.S. to be mixed with a little gas to qualify for a $1/gallon subsidy, then shipping it back to sell in European markets.
The Independent quotes Chris Goodall, “carbon guru and author of How to Live a Low Carbon Life,” as observing: “The current biofuels frenzy is more to do with the power of the agricultural lobby than it is about tackling climate change.”
I would be shocked, of course, absolutely shocked I tell you. But its been a long week.
(Another HT to WSJ’s Energy Roundup.)
As a small producer of bio-diesel in the UK,it is very unhelpful to have 500,000 tonnes of improperly subsidised bio-fuel being imported into Europe via USA.
I think that the EU should impose a tarif equivalent to the exact amount of subsidy to make the process of shipping it via USA uneconomic.
Additionally, it doesn’t seem very ‘green’ to be using energy shipping vaste quantities around the globe.