Abstract

Biofuels present an attractive way to cut carbon emissions and move to more sustainable fuels, by blending crops such as sugar and corn with petrol. Gordon Brown has pledged that 5% of fuel in the UK be sourced from biofuels by 2010; but with EU ministers poised to slash targets in the face of mounting environmental concerns, are biofuels really the way forwards? Or could the hidden costs actually accelerate climate change?

With Virgin Atlantic having completed the first biofuel-powered flight earlier this month, are we witnessing a breakthrough? Or is the future of plant-derived fuel more ‘up in the air’ than Richard Branson may care to think?

Cambridge University Chemical Society presents a panel debate on the role of biofuels in a post-oil world.

Panelists:

• Mike Lawton (Founder and CEO of Regenatec Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles)
• Dr. Andrew Boswell (BioFuelWatch, and Green Party councillor for Norwich)
• Darran Messem (Vice President of Fuel Development at Shell)
• Prof. David MacKay (Professor of Natural Philosophy, University of Cambridge)

http://www.chemsoc.ch.cam.ac.uk