The Danish government wants to introduce bio-ethanol in petrol and diesel by the end of 2007, a spokesman for the ruling Liberal Party told Danish television TV2 News on Jan. 4. The plan is part of the government's long-term energy strategy for 2025 due to be presented soon.

The government plans to add 2% bio-ethanol to petrol and diesel by the end of the year, before raising the level to 6% in 2010, according to the Liberal Party spokesman on energy issues, Lars Christian Lilleholt. "The goal is to make Denmark more 'green' and to adapt our transport sector progressively, reasonably and in a financially profitable way so that it uses more bio-fuels," he said.

The increased use of bio-ethanol will enable Denmark to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, in particular from politically unstable regions, and to pursue other alternatives, such as wind power, a field where Denmark is a world leader.

The transport sector accounts for 60% of the petrol used in Denmark. The country is self-sufficient owing to its oil reserves in the North Sea, but "there will come a day when that will no longer be the case," Lilleholt said.

The Danish government had until now been opposed to the use of first generation bio-ethanol, arguing that the environmental benefits were limited and preferring to wait for the second generation of bio-ethanol currently under development.