The mandate is lower than the 5.75% mark Ireland indicated it would implement in 2007, before its biofuel ambitions were sideswiped by the controversy over the perceived impact on global food supplies. But industry groups nevertheless claim it is long overdue, and will at least provide a stable foundation to build upon.

Irish energy minister Eamon Ryan, a member of the Green Party, insists that Ireland is on track to source 10% of its transport fuels from renewable sources by 2020, in line with an EU-wide mandate. Ryan says the 2010 target was dropped from 5.75% in order to give Ireland’s biofuels industry time to ramp up and develop new methods of production.

“I think it’s the right level [for now]”, Ryan says. “We’ll ramp it up depending on how the technology improves.”

The mandate includes a requirement that any biofuels used towards the 4% target must offer a demonstrable 35% reduction in carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels. Consumer groups estimate that the new mandate will add €0.01 to the cost of a litre of petrol at the pump at current oil prices.

The 4% obligation means vehicles in Ireland will guzzle approximately 217 million litres of biofuels each year by 2011 – or double the current level of consumption. Energy minister Ryan says the mandate provides domestic producers with a tremendous opportunity.

“The government is providing a guaranteed market for the bioenergy sector,” Ryan says. “We do not have oil supplies of our own in Ireland but ... our forests and farms can provide the fuel of the future.”

But opposition politicians counter that the mandate does nothing to boost domestic production, and will simply replace Ireland’s dependency on imported fossil fuels with a dependency on imported biofuels. Analysts estimate that 90% of the additional volume required will be imported from Brazil, Argentina and the US.