CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak is being urged to ditch plans to bump up fuel duty to combat climate change as a new eco-petrol has been given the green light at British pumps.
Ministers have signed off plans to use E10 petrol – which is mixture of petrol and ethanol made from materials including grains, sugars and waste wood – from September.
The eco fuel will cut transport emissions and be like taking 350,000 cars off the road.
But campaigners say it kills off Treasury argument to bump up fuel duty on green grounds at next week’s budget.
Edmund King, AA president, said they support “a more sustainable and greener fuel” but warned the Chancellor not to hike the duty – as the fuel is less efficient meaning drivers will have to buy more at the pump.
A government report revealed the new fuel will increase driving costs by 1.6 per cent.
He added: “That will rub many drivers the wrong way but the AA expects the Chancellor, who will get more fuel duty from more fuel consumed, will not have to increase fuel duty in the Budget next week.”
Howard Cox, founder of FairFuel UK added: “For weeks MPs have been told by the Treasury that one of reasons fuel duty hikes are needed is to push people towards electric and eco vehicles.
“But now the department for transport are championing new fuel that will supposedly cut emissions without the need to update their car.
“Not only are drivers being hit with mixed messages, but they will be punished in the pocket too.
“Hiking fuel duty hits lower income drivers the most, and the Treasury should not hide behind the green lobby as an excuse to swell their coffers.”
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams warned the new fuel could cost drivers more.
He said: “The switch to E10 petrol is clearly good news for the environment and will not affect the vast majority of the UK’s 33m car drivers although some may see the number of miles they get from a tank go down as research suggests E10 is potentially slightly less efficient.
“It’s estimated that around 700,000 cars registered prior to 2002 shouldn’t use E10 as seals, plastics and metals may be damaged by its corrosive properties if used exclusively over longer periods.
“It’s vital that anyone with an older vehicle gets the message about the switch otherwise they could end up with a big repair bill.
“Those with no option but to continue using E5 will have to fork out quite a lot of extra money as super grade unleaded is currently 136p a litre which is over 13p more expensive than regular petrol. There’s also a danger that E5 premium grade petrol may be harder to find in some more rural locations.
“And while there will be no visible impact on prices at pumps, the reality is that the higher cost of bioethanol has already been included in the wholesale cost some time ago.
“In fact, in the last 12 months the price of a litre has gone up by more than a penny simply because of the biocontent being stepped up gradually by the industry to 10%.”
The Department of Transport have championed the fuels green credentials, but also say it will hand a jobs boost with the fuel refined in the UK.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We’re going further and faster than ever to cut emissions from our roads, cleaning up our air as we accelerate towards a zero-emission transport future.
“Although more and more motorists are driving electric vehicles, there are steps we can take to reduce emissions from the millions of vehicles already on our roads – the small switch to E10 petrol will help drivers across the country reduce the environmental impact of every journey, as we build back greener.”
