Motorists will be able to fill their tanks with greener fuels after a new initiative comes into force in the UK today.

The move is known as the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and requires 2.5% of all road fuels sold to come from biofuels, rising to 5% by 2010. Motorists will fill their vehicles as normal, but the change is expected to save 2.5million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2010. It is part of a package of measures being taken to reduce the impact of transport on the environment. 

Suppliers are required to produce sustainability reports including information on where their biofuel crops come from and the level of carbon savings they will achieve. The Renewable Fuels Agency will publish these reports and compare the performance of transport fuel suppliers.

Alongside this, a review into the indirect impacts of biofuels has been announced by Ruth Kelly to ensure that the economic and environmental impacts of biofuel production are taken into account in the formation of UK policy beyond 2010. 

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