Greenpeace will be giving away thousands of litres of free green fuel to motorists at a central London location on Monday 13th November. The Greenpeace Guerrilla Garage will be dispensing bio-diesel - a plant-based fuel that is identical to ordinary diesel but only causes a fraction of the damage to the climate. Bio-diesel is widely used in conventional diesel engines in Germany and is guaranteed totally safe for British motorists. Bio-diesel is not commercially available in the UK despite the fact that Britain exports vegetable oil to France for bio-diesel production.
The Greenpeace action will highlight the fact that green fuels like bio-diesel are still discouraged in the UK and taxed at the same rate as ordinary diesel despite being much better for the environment. Greenpeace and the RAC Foundation have already called for a Green Fuel Fund, which would ensure a few pence of the current fuel levy would go to developing and promoting green fuels.
Matthew Spencer, Campaign Manager at Greenpeace, said:
"We are giving away free bio-diesel to make the point that we can switch to green fuels right now and make a huge reduction in the environmental impact of motoring. Green fuels like bio-diesel, hydrogen and compressed natural gas need tax breaks and financial support if they are going to succeed. Given the massive devastation caused by climate change and related floods we really don't have much choice."
"The British Government is talking green at the international climate meeting in The Hague but at the same time is cutting the price of oil based petrol and diesel which is wrecking the climate. John Prescott's international environmental credentials have been undermined by Gordon Brown's tax cuts on oil fuels at home. The Chancellor wants us to believe that taking sulphur out of fuel is being green but this will increase climate change and is little more than green camouflage."
Notes for Editors:
[1] The location of the Greenpeace Guerrilla Garage will be announced at 9.00am, Monday, 13th November, when the garage opens. People driving diesel vehicles (including private cars, taxis, buses and trucks) will be welcome to come and fill their tanks for free.
[2] Bio-diesel is the name for fuel made from vegetable oils. It is made either directly from crops such as rapeseed, sunflower and soya, or by recycling cooking oil. Bio-diesel is non-toxic, biodegradable and can be used in normal diesel engines. Bio-diesel is not zero emission, but the environmental impact of bio-diesel is half that of petro-diesel. In Germany, about 150,000 vehicles run on bio-diesel and the fuel is available in thousands of filling stations. One UK haulier, who supplies ASDA supermarkets, is using bio-diesel on a trial basis. No filling stations supply bio-diesel in the UK despite the fact that Britain is a major producer of rapeseed oil. A significant portion of the UK crop is exported to make bio-diesel in France. In most European countries bio-diesel is zero-rated for tax purposes. In the UK bio-diesel is taxed at the same rate as petro-diesel.
[3] Greenpeace and the RAC are calling for Gordon Brown to create a Green Fuel Fund of £00 million a year to protect the climate and human health by promoting alternatives to oil. The fund should be used to:
- Increase the use of road fuel gases, increase the use of electric vehicles and begin work on a hydrogen distribution system
Road fuel gases are less polluting than petrol or diesel vehicles. Electric and hydrogen fuelled vehicles emit no pollution directly, but are only green if the electricity or hydrogen is produced from renewable energy sources. So the Fund should also be used to:
- harness the UK's offshore wind potential, develop a world-beating wave power industry and fit solar panels to new and existing buildings.
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace Press Office on 020 7865 8255/6/7/8
