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Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research concerns the ecological effect of increasing imports of used cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.

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

But such is the demand across Europe that imports now account for majority of the UCO that's made into fuel.

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

With no testing of what's can be found in, specialists believe it is also ripe for fraud.

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

They have actually encouraged the use of biofuels as an essential ways of curbing carbon from automobiles and trucks.

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

The truth that these crops can be re-grown and absorb more CO2 suggests they cancel out the carbon emitted when used in engines.

Soy and palm oil were when widely used as elements of biodiesel but this practice has actually been commonly challenged since it encourages deforestation.

So for the last years approximately, the usage of utilized cooking oil has expanded enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually ended up being a crucial element of biodiesel with a reliable industry springing up throughout Europe to gather and process the item.

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

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

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

While UCO is considered a waste product in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been utilized 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 countries aren't offered however the circulation of UCO is most likely to be similar.

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 comparison, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million people, handled to gather 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 previously using it for," stated Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.

"And they're simply purchasing more virgin oil and that virgin oil is largely palm oil, since that's the most inexpensive oil offered.

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

Another significant problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the cost of UCO is frequently greater than palm oil. The concern is that some deceitful traders are merely watering down shipments of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transport, and no testing of the materials is performed, some experts believe fraud is swarming.

The recommendation of scams anywhere along the chain of supply is declined by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who state there are robust certification schemes in location.

"It is extensively understood that the European Commission has actually taken pertinent steps to totally curb unsound market practices in biofuel markets," said 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 combination of modified accreditation schemes and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability problems develop in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

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

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

"Rising the demand beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and risks of using 'fake' UCO, potentially resulting in indirect impacts such as logging."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

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