Germany's environment minister announced today that he put a stop to government plans to raise the biofuel blending levels in gasoline.

The country was moving to increase the levels to 10 percent up from 5 percent, but Sigmar Gabriel said the increase could damage older cars.

The environment minister said more than 3 million cars in the country, mostly foreign brands, would not be able to burn the new fuel and would be forced to use more expensive unblended gasoline grades.

VDB, the German biofuels industry association, applauded the decision. The lobbying group had argued that the ethanol used for blending in Germany was imported primarily from countries where deforestation may have taken place to expand farmland.

The group said the the required three million tonnes of ethanol per year that would be needed for the boost in blending is not available from European production, and that there is no guarantee of sustainable production methods with imports.

Gabriel said the country would retain the current 5 percent level for ethanol in gasoline, along with a 7 percent maximum for biodiesel blending.

Germany, under its European Union obligations, aims to power 10 percent of its transportation needs with biofuel by 2020.