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 questions the environmental impact of rising imports of utilized 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 conserves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.


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


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


With no screening of what's can be found in, specialists think it is also ripe for scams.


Used cooking oil imports may boost logging


Consumers present 'growing danger' to tropical forests


Reducing emissions from transportation is showing to be among the hardest obstacles for governments all over the world.


They have actually encouraged making use of biofuels as a crucial methods of curbing carbon from cars and trucks.


Biofuels are typically a blend of fossil fuel and oil made from plants or veggies.


The fact that these crops can be re-grown and take in more CO2 suggests they cancel out the carbon discharged when used in engines.


Soy and palm oil were when widely utilized as elements of biodiesel however this practice has been extensively discredited because it motivates logging.


So for the last decade or two, using used cooking oil has broadened massively as an alternative for fuel.


Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become a crucial component of biodiesel with an effective market emerging across Europe to gather and process the product.


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


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


Their study suggests this is highly problematic when it pertains to effects on the environment.


While UCO is considered a waste material in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has actually long been used to feed animals. The report raises the concern of what people in these countries are replacing 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 readily available but the flow of UCO is most likely to be comparable.


With a population of around 33 million, that's close to three litres per head of utilized 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 gather around five million litres of UCO in 2019.


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


"And they're simply purchasing more virgin oil which virgin oil is mainly palm oil, because that's the most affordable oil readily available.


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


Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.


Because of need from Europe, the cost of UCO is often higher than palm oil. The worry is that some deceitful traders are simply watering down shipments of UCO with palm.


As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no testing of the materials is performed, some experts believe fraud is rife.


The idea of fraud anywhere along the chain of supply is turned down by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who state there are robust accreditation schemes in place.


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


He says a new database being established by the EU will ensure that trading, accreditation and sustainability information on all bio-liquids will need to be registered.


"The mix of modified accreditation schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability problems arise in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he informed BBC News.


Others in the field are worried that the database idea, which was very first mooted in 2018, may not work in stemming thought scams.


The report from Transport & Environment mentions that with shipping and aviation seeking to decarbonise by utilizing biofuels, demand for UCO might double over the next years.


"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and dangers of utilizing 'fake' UCO, potentially causing indirect effects such as logging."


Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.


Related topics


COP26


Paris climate contract


Climate

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