Powering NZ’s future with biofuels

 The Government is to introduce a Sustainable Biofuels Mandate to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector.Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods said “Biofuels offer a practical, low-emissions solution to reduce New Zealand’s transport sector emissions and will be scaled up over time resulting in greater emissions reductions from transport fuels."From 1 April 2023, fuel wholesalers will be required to cut the total greenhouse gas emissions for transport fuels they sell by a set percentage each year, by deploying biofuels as a part of their fuel supply.“The Sustainable Biofuels Mandate will prevent around one million tonnes of emissions from cars, trucks, trains and ships over the next three years and up to 10 million tonnes by 2035 to help us meet our climate commitments."Transport Minister Michael Wood says we need to transition to low-emission vehicles, and biofuels will help reduce emissions while we make that transition. Biofuels have the potential to boost economic recovery through encouraging a local industry and creating jobs.“We’re committing to develop a separate mandate for aviation fuel during 2022 given the unique challenges the sector faces. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is working with Air New Zealand on a feasibility study on the potential for domestic production of sustainable aviation fuel and this will feed into that work,” Michael Wood said.More information can be found on the MBIE website.