Letter to stakeholders about the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

From Malcolm Fendick
Head of Cleaner Fuels & Vehicles Division

Dear Stakeholder

RENEWABLE TRANSPORT FUEL OBLIGATION

As the head of the division responsible for the delivery of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation I am keen to keep stakeholders in touch with the progress we are making as we enter a crucial phase in the development of the scheme. I intend to write on a regular basis to let you know about progress. I also wanted to draw your attention to the web pages we are developing for the RTFO programme. We intend to include all the key papers underpinning the programme; some papers have already been posted on the site and we will add to these over the coming weeks. The information can be found in the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) section.

Legislation

We are now in the process of finalising the details of how the RTFO will operate, so that we can draft the necessary regulations. We intend to consult on a draft set of regulations early in 2007 which will give you an opportunity to influence the design of the scheme. Thereafter we intend to lay the regulations in Parliament in the autumn of 2007 to allow the RTFO to be introduced in April 2008.

RTFO Levels after 1010/11

We will also be consulting in early 2007 on the ways in which the RTFO might develop over the longer term. This will include coordination of future (i.e. post 2010) target levels, and whether, and if so how and when we might begin to offer incentives for those biofuels which deliver the maximum carbon savings. In setting future targets, we will also need to take account of the review of the EU's Biofuels Directive which is due to be completed by December 2006.

Environmental Assurance Scheme

As many of you will be aware the RTFO will include a mandatory reporting requirement from day one which will mean that all Obligated companies will need to report on the carbon savings delivered by their biofuels and on the other environmental and social impacts associated with them. We are developing a detailed carbon calculation methodology to allow companies to do this and we are also developing guidance on the scope and format of the necessary reports. We will be working closely with stakeholders as we take this forward and we hope to consult on draft guidance in the spring of 2007.

Feedback

If you would like to contact me or one of the team members, please e-mail Sharon Blankson (sharon.blankson@dft.gsi.gov.uk) or Fahima Mahtab (fahima.mahtab@dft.gsi.gov.uk). Please also let us know if you would prefer not to receive these updates in future. We may occasionally publish comments that we consider are of common interest on the RTFO web pages. We will not normally provide the names of correspondents but will give an indication of the sector they come from. If you would prefer that your comments are not made available in this way please indicate accordingly.

Yours sincerely
Malcolm Fendick