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Opened Jan 14, 2025 by Suzette Peace@bdnsuzette121
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Climate Change: Growing Doubts Over Chip Fat Biofuel


Climate modification: Growing doubts over chip fat biofuel

21 April 2021

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New research study questions the environmental effect of increasing 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 across 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 prove these imports are sustainable.

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

Used cooking oil imports might increase deforestation

Consumers posture 'growing danger' to tropical forests

Reducing emissions from transport is showing to be one of the toughest difficulties for federal governments all over the world.

They have actually motivated making use of biofuels as a crucial ways of curbing carbon from cars and trucks and lorries.

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

The truth that these crops can be re-grown and soak up more CO2 implies they counteract the carbon discharged when used in engines.

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

So for the last years or so, making use of utilized cooking oil has expanded enormously as an alternative feedstock for fuel.

Chip fat and other waste oils have actually become a key element of biodiesel with a reliable industry springing up throughout Europe to gather and process the product.

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

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

Their research study recommends this is extremely troublesome when it concerns influence on the environment.

While UCO is thought about 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 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 readily available but the flow of UCO is most likely to be similar.

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

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

"Because we are purchasing it, they have actually 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 just purchasing more virgin oil which virgin oil is mostly palm oil, because that's the most inexpensive oil readily available.

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

Another major problem with UCO is the suspicion of scams.

Because of need from Europe, the price of UCO is typically higher than palm oil. The worry is that some dishonest traders are simply watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.

As oils of various types are blended in bulk for transportation, and no screening of the materials is carried out, some specialists think scams is rife.

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

"It is widely known that the European Commission has taken appropriate actions to totally curb unsound market practices in biofuel markets," said Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.

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

"The mix of modified accreditation plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will guarantee that no sustainability issues develop in the whole biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.

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

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

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

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.

Related topics

COP26

Paris environment contract

Climate

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Reference: bdnsuzette121/mission-biofuels-sdn.-bhd#10