As EWS announced on September 14 that the Prince of Wales had become 'the first passenger in Britain to travel on a train hauled by a locomotive fuelled by 100% bio-fuel', arriving in Scarborough on the Royal Train behind a Class 67, argument continued on the efficacy of reducing carbon emissions through the use of fuels derived from food production. While trials of biodiesel continue at Virgin Crosscountry, National Express Group recently suspended trials of biodiesel on its UK bus fleet (RB1300 p6) A report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-op-eration ft Development on September 12 claimed that biofuels would cut energy-related emissions by a maximum of 3%, but at the cost of substantial subsidies. In particular, the OECD report criticised biofuel subsidies which could incentivise the clearing of tropical rain forest to grow crops such as palms. Use of cereal crops for ethanol production has already seen the cost of flour and other foodstuffs increase. According to the study, subsidised production of ethanol in the USA equates to a cost of £250 for every tonne of C0_2 avoided.
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