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<br>Climate change: Growing doubts over chip fat [biofuel](https://www.businessnews.com.au/Company/Mission-NewEnergy)<br> |
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<br>21 April 2021<br> |
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<br>remarks<br> |
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<br>354 Comments<br> |
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<br>New research [questions](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) the ecological effect of rising imports of utilized cooking oil (UCO) into the UK and Europe.<br> |
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<br>Chip fat and other oils are thought about waste, so when they are used to make [biodiesel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) it saves carbon emissions by displacing fossil oil.<br> |
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<br>But such is the demand throughout Europe that imports now [represent](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) over half of the UCO that's made into fuel.<br> |
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<br>According to the study, external, there's no chance to show these imports are sustainable.<br> |
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<br>With no screening of what's coming in, specialists think it is also ripe for scams.<br> |
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<br>Used cooking oil imports may improve deforestation<br> |
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<br>Consumers present 'growing threat' to tropical forests<br> |
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<br>Reducing emissions from [transport](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0cqd_rb) is proving to be one of the most difficult difficulties for governments all over the world.<br> |
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<br>They've [encouraged](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) the usage of biofuels as an essential ways of suppressing carbon from cars and lorries.<br> |
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<br>Biofuels are [typically](https://www.pinterest.com.au/missionnewenergy/) a mix of source and oil made from plants or vegetables.<br> |
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<br>The fact that these crops can be [re-grown](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL) and take in more CO2 means they cancel out the carbon given off when utilized in engines.<br> |
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<br>Soy and [palm oil](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/51278-86) were once extensively utilized as elements of [biodiesel](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) however this practice has been widely challenged due to the fact that it encourages logging.<br> |
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<br>So for the last years approximately, using used cooking oil has expanded enormously as an [alternative feedstock](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) for fuel.<br> |
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<br>Chip fat and other waste oils have become an essential element of [biodiesel](https://www.zonebourse.com/cours/action/MISSION-NEWENERGY-LIMITED-8557641/) with a reliable market springing up across Europe to gather and process the product.<br> |
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<br>But with the amount of [biodiesel](https://www.abnnewswire.net/companies/en/31347/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%97-Mission-NewEnergy-%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94.html/4) made from UCO increasing by around 40% every year because 2014, there just isn't sufficient chip fat to go around.<br> |
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<br>According to a report from the campaign group Transport & Environment, external, more than half of the UCO used in Europe is imported.<br> |
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<br>Their research study recommends this is extremely troublesome when it pertains to impacts on the environment.<br> |
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<br>While UCO is considered a waste material in the UK, in China, Indonesia and Malaysia it has long been used to [feed animals](https://stocktwits.com/symbol/MNEL). The report raises the question of what individuals in these countries are replacing the UCO with, when it is exported.<br> |
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<br>In 2019, Malaysia exported 90 million litres of UCO to the UK and Ireland. Figures for their exports to other [European countries](https://forest500.org/rankings/companies/mission-newenergy-limited) aren't readily available but the flow of UCO is most likely to be comparable.<br> |
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<br>With a [population](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) of around 33 million, that's close to 3 litres per head of used oil that's collected and [exported](https://www.energy-xprt.com/companies/mission-newenergy-limited-36048) to the UK and Ireland alone.<br> |
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<br>By contrast, Thailand, which has a population of 70 million individuals, handled to collect around 5 million litres of UCO in 2019.<br> |
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<br>"Because we are buying it, they have less used cooking oil to use on the important things that they were previously utilizing it for," stated Greg Archer with Transport & Environment.<br> |
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<br>"And they're simply buying more virgin oil and that virgin oil is mainly palm oil, because that's the cheapest oil readily available.<br> |
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<br>"So indirectly, we're just encouraging more [deforestation](https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/159352/mission-newenergy-debt-free-focused-on-biofuel-joint-venture-60797.html) in Southeast Asia."<br> |
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<br>Another significant issue with UCO is the suspicion of fraud.<br> |
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<br>Because of demand from Europe, the price of UCO is frequently greater than palm oil. The concern is that some unethical traders are merely watering down deliveries of UCO with palm.<br> |
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<br>As oils of different types are mixed in bulk for transport, and no screening of the materials is performed, some professionals believe scams is swarming.<br> |
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<br>The tip of fraud anywhere along the chain of supply is rejected by the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), who state there are robust accreditation schemes in place.<br> |
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<br>"It is widely understood that the European Commission has taken pertinent steps to entirely curb unsound market practices in [biofuel](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mission-newenergy) markets," said Angel Alberdi, EWABA's secretary general.<br> |
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<br>He says a new database being established by the EU will guarantee that trading, accreditation and sustainability data on all bio-liquids will have to be registered.<br> |
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<br>"The combination of [revised certification](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1463471/000165495419013063/R31.htm) plans and the pan-EU track and trace database will ensure that no sustainability concerns develop in the entire biofuels and bio-liquids supply chain," he told BBC News.<br> |
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<br>Others in the field are worried that the database concept, which was first mooted in 2018, might not work in stemming thought fraud.<br> |
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<br>The report from Transport & Environment explains that with shipping and air travel looking to decarbonise by using biofuels, need for UCO might double over the next decade.<br> |
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<br>"Rising the need beyond sustainable supply levels would increase these concerns, and risks of using 'phony' UCO, possibly resulting in [indirect effects](https://www.investing.com/equities/mission-newenergy-ltd-company-profile) such as deforestation."<br> |
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<br>Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc, external.<br> |
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<br>Related subjects<br> |
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<br>COP26<br> |
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<br>Paris environment arrangement<br> |
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<br>Climate<br> |
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