1 Climate Change: Growing Doubts Over Chip Fat Biofuel

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Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions the ecological impact of rising imports of used cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

Chip fat and other oils are thought about waste, so when they are used to make biodiesel it saves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.

But such is the need throughout Europe that imports now represent over half of the UCO that's made into fuel.

According to the study, external, there's no chance to show these imports are sustainable.

Without any screening of what's being available in, specialists believe it is also ripe for fraud.

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from transport is showing to be among the most difficult difficulties for governments all over the world.

They've encouraged the use of biofuels as an essential ways of suppressing carbon from cars and lorries.

Biofuels are generally a blend of nonrenewable fuel source and oil made from plants or veggies.

The fact that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 means they cancel out the carbon released when utilized in engines.

Soy and palm oil were once commonly used as parts of biodiesel however this practice has been commonly challenged due to the fact that it encourages logging.

So for the last decade or two, making use of used cooking oil has actually expanded enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being a key part of biodiesel with an effective market springing up across Europe to collect and process the item.

But with the quantity of biodiesel made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year given that 2014, there merely isn't enough chip fat to walk around.

According to a report from the project group Transport & Environment, external, more than half of the UCO used in Europe is imported.

Their research study recommends this is extremely bothersome when it pertains to influence on the environment.

While UCO is considered a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has actually long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the concern of what individuals in these nations are changing the UCO with, when it is exported.

In 2019, Malaysia exported 90 million litres of UCO to the UK and Ireland. Figures for their exports to other European nations aren't available however the circulation of UCO is most likely to be comparable.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to three litres per head of used oil that's gathered and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

By contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million individuals, handled to collect around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.

"Because we are purchasing it, they have actually less utilized cooking oil to use on the important things that they were previously using it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're just buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mostly palm oil, since that's the least expensive oil readily available.

"So indirectly, we're simply motivating more logging in Southeast Asia."

Another major issue with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the cost of UCO is frequently higher than palm oil. The worry is that some unscrupulous traders are merely diluting deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no testing of the products is carried out, some experts think fraud is swarming.

The suggestion of fraud anywhere along the chain of supply is declined by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who say there are robust certification plans in place.

"It is extensively known that the European Commission has actually taken pertinent steps to totally suppress unsound market practices in biofuel markets," said Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

He states a brand-new database being established by the EU will guarantee that trading, certification and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.

"The mix of revised accreditation schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability problems emerge in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

Others in the field are concerned that the database idea, which was very first mooted in 2018, might not work in stemming thought fraud.

The report from Transport & Environment points out that with shipping and air travel aiming to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, demand for UCO might double over the next decade.

"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and dangers of using 'fake' UCO, potentially causing indirect impacts such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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