Biodiesel will solve nothing - let’s try increased motor tax instead

YOU reported the opening of the first outlet in Ireland to sell biodiesel made from rapeseed oil (Irish Examiner, November 17).

All things being equal this would be a ‘green’ alternative to fossil fuel because the carbon used to grow the plants is sequestered from the air - but all things are not equal.

Considerable energy input is needed for the complete cycle - to produce fertiliser, cultivate the land, harvest the crop, process it into fuel, and to distribute it, all of which comes from fossil fuels, including tax-free red diesel.