The push to use biofuels in place of petrol has done little to aid the development of the UK’s biofuel industry and may have produced more greenhouse gas than it has saved, according to a report published on Wednesday.

British biofuels are generally regarded as more environmentally sound than imports. According to the Renewable Energy Association, they produce a greenhouse gas saving of 71 per cent, against 46 per cent for imports. Yet only 8 per cent of the biofuel – fuel derived from plants – used in the UK comes from British sources, according to the REA.