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 concerns the environmental impact of increasing imports of utilized cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

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

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

According to the research 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 likewise ripe for scams.

Used cooking oil imports might improve deforestation

Consumers position 'growing danger' to tropical forests

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

They've encouraged the use of biofuels as a crucial ways of suppressing carbon from cars and trucks.

Biofuels are normally a mix of nonrenewable fuel source and oil made from plants or vegetables.

The fact that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 means they counteract the carbon given off when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were once extensively utilized as parts of biodiesel however this practice has been widely challenged since it encourages logging.

So for the last decade or so, the use of used cooking oil has expanded massively as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become a key component of biodiesel with an efficient industry springing up across Europe to gather and process the product.

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

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

Their study suggests this is extremely troublesome when it comes to effects on the environment.

While UCO is thought about a waste material in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has actually long been utilized to feed animals. The report raises the question of what individuals 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 available but the flow of UCO is most likely to be comparable.

With a population of around 33 million, that's close to 3 litres per head of utilized oil that's collected and exported to the UK and Ireland alone.

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

"Because we are purchasing it, they have less used cooking oil to utilize on the important things that they were formerly utilizing it for," said Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

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

"So indirectly, we're just encouraging more deforestation in Southeast Asia."

Another major issue with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.

Because of need from Europe, the rate of UCO is often greater than palm oil. The worry is that some unethical traders are merely watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no testing of the products is performed, some specialists think fraud is rife.

The recommendation of scams anywhere along the chain of supply is turned down by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who say there are robust accreditation plans in place.

"It is widely known that the European Commission has taken relevant actions to completely suppress unsound market practices in biofuel markets," stated Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

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

"The mix of revised certification plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will make sure that no sustainability concerns emerge in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

Others in the field are concerned that the database concept, which was first mooted in 2018, might not be reliable in stemming presumed fraud.

The report from Transport & Environment points out that with shipping and aviation wanting to decarbonise by using biofuels, demand for UCO could double over the next decade.

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these issues, and threats of utilizing 'fake' UCO, potentially resulting in indirect impacts such as deforestation."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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