Berlin: German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said today that the country would scrap plans to develop biofuels because they were not appropriate for millions of vehicles.

"We will not do it," Gabriel told the television channel ARD. "It is not a measure dealing with environmental policy, but a measure destined to aid the automobile industry," he added.

The news dealt a blow to so-called green fuels which have been presented as a way to reduce global warming but which have also been criticised by ecologists.

The German E10 project was supposed to ensure that 10 per cent of petrol used by cars and light trucks in Germany was comprised of ethanol to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

But the result was more corrosive than classic petrol and threatened to wear out certain engine parts too quickly. Gabriel had warned he would abandon the project if the number of vehicles that could not use the fuel surpassed one million.

Today he said the number had exceeded three million. The German automakers association VDA had said yesterday that the number was much lower, at around 360,000.

"The German automotive industry has done its homework and stuck to its word," VDA president Matthias Wissmann said.
Source : PTI