Biofuels bid to put brakes on gas-guzzling US

US President George Bush wants Congress to aggressively expand the use of alternative fuels, mainly ethanol, to reduce the need for petrol and put the brakes on growing US oil consumption.

Bush’s proposal aims to cut petrol use by 20% by 2017, mostly by replacing the fuel with ethanol, and by expected improvements in car fuel economy.

Environmentalists and some politicians said the plan did not go far enough.

The proposal in yesterday’s State of the Union address rejects forcing car manufacturers to boost the fuel economy of their new car fleets, but leaves open possible future increases if Congress provides more flexibility in the regulation.

The president also makes clear he has no plans to shift away from a largely voluntary programme to address climate change, continuing to oppose mandatory reductions of so-called “greenhouse” gases.

Democratic senator Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the president was “ducking the issue” of climate change by not embracing some mandatory emission reductions.

The issue has gained new traction in the US Congress since Democrats seized control from Bush’s Republican Party in November’s elections.

Democratic leaders are eager to raise environmental issues to the top of the legislative agenda.

Bush has also been under pressure from world leaders, including Tony Blair, on global warming.

Bush’s speech before the full Congress is one of the most-watched political events of the year, a chance for him to lay out his vision for the future.

The energy proposal calls on Congress to require the annual use of 35 billion gallons of ethanol and other alternative fuels such as biodiesel by 2017, a five-fold increase over current requirements. The ethanol would be in petrol blends of 10 to 85%.

US motorists now use 140 billion gallons of petrol a year.

White House aides said the sharp increase in alternative fuels and technological changes, including the use of more gas-electric hybrid cars, would cut projected petrol demand by 20% over the next decade.

“It’s a very ambitious goal, but it’s one we think is achievable,” said Deputy Chief of Staff Joel Kaplan.

Environmentalists and some Democrats in Congress said the proposals fell short of what was needed for energy security.

David Friedman of the Union of Concerned Scientists said that the president’s expectations of fuel savings were in line with several Democratic fuel economy bills introduced in the Congress.

The president, said Friedman, “gives no guarantee that it will happen”. Without a requirement to meet specific fuel economy improvements, “what we’re potentially left with is an empty promise filled with loopholes”.

Democratic senator Charles Schumer said the president “has put his toe in the waters” when it comes to saving petrol, but that his plan “is clearly not enough without a real commitment that he will improve fuel economy standards”.

Kaplan, in a briefing with reporters, acknowledged the administration could boost fuel economy requirements for car makers without congressional action but that “it would be a mistake” to do so without the additional flexibility. “It’s not cost effective,” he said.

The White House called the push for alternative fuels “a bold new initiative” that also would be expected to halt the growth of heat-trapping gases from passenger vehicles, which use 40% of the country’s oil.

“It’s a step in the right direction” but not a fundamental shift in the president’s voluntary approach to dealing with global warming, said Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change.

“If you really want to address climate change, you need a mandatory programme that covers all major sources.”

The call for sharp increases in use of ethanol will get bipartisan support in Congress, where several bills, including one calling for production of up to 60 billion gallons by 2030, have already been introduced.

Corn-based ethanol will fall far short of meeting such an increase.

Bush’s fuels proposal, which is aimed at replacing 15% of petrol use by 2017, envisages a major speed-up of research into production of cellulosic ethanol, made from wood chips, switch grass and other non-corn feedstock.

The president’s upcoming proposed budget for fiscal 2008, will include €142.6m for such biofuels and €1.6bn in loans guarantees for cellulosic ethanol plants, the White House says.