Biofuel isn’t the instant cure for motor sport’s environmental ills

Last weekend in Taupo, New Zealand, motor sport went green. Actually, that’s an exaggeration. One of the sport’s hundreds of championships hitched a ride on the environmental bandwagon. But only a third of it clung on.

Need me to explain? A1GP – the self-styled ‘World Cup of Motor Sport’ and one of racing’s few recent success stories – has followed the lead of many other championships and decided to fill its tanks with biofuel. Well, only 30% of the mix is from sugar beet-derived ethanol, but the series has still boosted its green credentials and helped protect itself against a precarious future, right?
Well, since the championship hosts every single one of its 10 races in a different country (spanning several continents) it has to transport the equipment and personnel of 22 teams around the globe. So, for starters, it will contribute more to global warming than a national-based series. Like America’s IndyCar Series, which, incidentally, competes on 100% ethanol fuel.

“Now now,” the A1GP press release will tell you, “our move cuts CO2 emissions by 21% per car.” OK, that’s not bad. But what do critics and, over the past week, the EU think about biofuels? To repeat some of the concerns: growing crops for fuel can lead to rainforests being destroyed; the process of producing the fuel can release high levels of CO2; is it right to generate crops for fuel, not to feed those who are starving?

Guardian