All vehicles to use bioethanol fuel in Japan by 2030

All gasoline-powered vehicles in Japan will run on blend fuel that contains 10 percent of environment-friendly bioethanol by 2030, Asahi Shimbun reported Tuesday, quoting environment ministry officials.

Bioethanol is a type of alcohol extracted from plants such as sugarcane and sweet corn. The carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from burning bioethanol is regarded as a re-emission of CO2 that plants had absorbed while they were alive.

The ministry plans to introduce laws and regulations between 2008 to 2012 requiring all new vehicles to be compatible with a blend of 90-percent petrol and 10-percent bioethanol (E10), it said.

Meanwhile, the ministry aims to have half of all fuel consumed by vehicles contain 3-percent bioethanol (E3). Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan promises to cut CO2 emission by 6 percent from the1990 level between 2008 and 2012.

E10 fuel will be available on the Japanese market starting from2020. By 2030, all vehicles in Japan should be using E10 fuel, according the plan.

By estimation, the overall shift to E10 gasoline will reduce Japan's carbon dioxide emission by about 10 million tons. The amount of bioethanol used by 2030 is equivalent to 2.2 million kiloliters of crude oil, it said.

New cars currently on sale in Japan can use E3 gasoline, though the fuel is not generally available on market.