France to develop biofuels
France has announced that it will look into measures to accelerate the development of biofuels by 1 January 2005. Speaking on French radio, Europe 1, Hervé Gaymard, Minister for Agriculture, explained that the aim is to incorporate biofuels into both petrol and diesel oil. 'At present, we are using approximately one per cent of biofuels and the long-term objective for 2010 is to increase our consumption to 5.75 per cent,' said the Minister. 'It is the incorporation of these fuels stemming from vegetables that allows us to decrease our energy bills.' The French president, Jacques Chirac, underlined the importance he awards to 'the development of biofuels for agricultural, environmental and energy reasons' at a recent Council of Ministers. The government is keen, explained the president's spokesperson Jean-François Copé, to conform to European recommendations that have fixed the rate of biofuels and other renewable fuels in petrol and diesel oil sold in France for transport at 5.75 per cent by 2010. By using more biofuels, France will reduced its emission of carbon dioxide by 16 million tonnes, thus respecting the standards fixed by the Kyoto protocol on global warming, he explained Furthermore, said Mr Gaymard, 'if we did not have biofuels today, our energy bill would be three billion euro more.' By developing these new forms of energy, France is hoping to reduce costs further by the same amount.
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