Biofuels can help lessen New Zealand's oil dependence

The introduction of a biofuels sales obligation will help New Zealand move away from its dependence on imported oil and is most likely to lessen, not increase, the cost of transport fuel, Energy Minister David Parker said. The Minister welcomed the report of the Local Government and Environment Committee on the Biofuel Bill, which recommends that the bill be passed with amendments. For practical reasons, the obligation is recommended to come into effect on October 1. “This bill allows for a future where an increasing proportion of New Zealand’s transport fuel can be produced locally, from by-products of the dairy or beef industry, from wood and grasses grown on otherwise unproductive land, or perhaps one day from algae from sewage ponds. If the Minister has not done so by June 30, 2009, the bill now requires them to explain to Parliament their reasons for not having done so. In addition, the bill now requires annual reporting by oil companies against the sustainability principles in the bill and gives the Minister of Energy the right to request information on the source of any biofuel, the process by which it was produced, and its consistency with the sustainability principles. (June 24, 2008)