Germany backs off plan to double ethanol

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Germany’s environment minister has scrapped a plan to double the amount of ethanol that can be mixed into gasoline, saying that too many cars would be unable to cope with the change.

The government planned to increase to 10 percent from 5 percent next year the amount of ethanol that can be mixed into ordinary gasoline as part of an effort to encourage the use of biofuels. However, it said it would give up the plan if more than a million cars were unable to use the new mix.

Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said April 4 that the auto industry has now reported that “significantly over 3 million” imported cars would be affected, along with 189,000 made in Germany. If a more heavily cut standard gasoline had been introduced, their owners would have had to fill up with more expensive premium-grade fuel.

“I decided that I would not start a long debate and new uncertainty over possibilities of refitting (cars) and delaying deadlines ... we are simply saying that we won’t do this,” Gabriel said on ARD television.

He said that the aim had been merely “to make it possible for the German auto industry to reach its climate protection aims more cheaply.”

Gabriel said that the existing 5 percent ethanol limit for normal gasoline would stay in place — along with a 7 percent cap on biodiesel in diesel fuel.

—The Associated Press