Motorists are now able to fill their tanks with greener fuels following the introduction of a new initiative. 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. The move is part of a package of measures being taken to reduce the impact of transport on the environment.

The UK has gone further than any other country to give fuel suppliers a real incentive to produce sustainable biofuels that do not harm 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 already been announced by Ruth Kelly to ensure the full economic and environmental impacts of biofuel production are taken into account in the formation of UK policy beyond 2010.

"Making it easier for motorists to use greener fuel is an important step towards reducing carbon emissions from transport," explained transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick said. "It should help save millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide in the coming years. But we must do all we can to ensure biofuels are produced sustainably. We know people are concerned about the environmental risks associated with expanding biofuel production and we take those concerns very seriously. "That is why we want to introduce mandatory standards as soon as possible to guarantee that biofuels don't cause deforestation or food shortages and we are leading international work to do this. In the meantime, we require suppliers to produce sustainability reports, providing an immediate incentive for them to source biofuels responsibly."