The World in 2030

206 The World in 2030
Ministers hope this will help the UK to meet its targets
for using renewable energy, and that it will also
boost farming, forestry and the countryside.
Material like miscanthus (a tall, woody grass), willow,
poplar, sawdust, straw, and wood from forests are all
suitable. 392
But while domestic production of biofuel ramps up in the
UK, most oil derived from plants has to be imported. But
the UK government has not yet completed its analysis of
overseas biofuels sources so British consumers who wish to
burn biofuels are unable to distinguish between fuels from
‘good’ and ‘bad’ sources. 393
Other forms of biofuel can also be produced from waste
products such as fat, cooking oil, sewage, manure and organic
waste and, although necessarily small-scale, such projects (if
properly handled) have a low environmental impact during
production and can contribute significantly to the problems
of climate change when used to replace fossil fuels.
Several examples of successful small-scale biofuel
production projects can be found in the South Pacific
where islanders are turning coconuts into fuel. As the
peopleandplanet.net website reports:
In the Pacific islands there are great opportunities to
use coconut oil as a fuel, according to Jan Cloin of
the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission.
‘Coconut oil can be blended with diesel fuel, and
under certain conditions totally replace it. Coconut