Global certification body ISCC has revised down the extremely large amount of used cooking oil said to have been collected in Italy and Malta for biofuel production in 2022, with the original figure being He said it was the result of a mistake.
Around 604,040 tonnes of oil used for frying will be collected in Italy in 2022, and 520,000 tonnes in Malta alone, according to data released last month by DG ENER, the European Commission’s directorate-general for energy policy. It was done.
Italy and Malta would have been among the world’s top three suppliers of used cooking oil (UCO) based on the amount originally recovered, raising questions about the authenticity of the raw material.
UCO can be refined to produce second-generation biofuels that are an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels. Demand for such biofuels is growing in Europe to decarbonize its oil-dependent transport sector as the EU aims to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century.
Under EU rules, biofuels from waste sources are also double counted towards national transport renewable energy targets, making the feedstock highly valuable.
The 2022 figures reported in Italy and Malta were well above the average UCO recovery rate of around 2 liters per person. According to the data, in 2022 approximately 13 liters of UCO per person will be identified as being of Italian origin, while in Malta that figure has reached a staggering 1,100 liters per person.
James Cogan, policy advisor for biofuels company Ethanol Europe, wrote in an opinion piece published in Euractic that data shows large amounts of substances such as virgin palm oil are being “incorrectly identified” as UCOs. He said it was suggested.
However, an ISCC statement released on Monday (15 January) said this figure was based on submissions to ISCC as part of the EU’s annual reporting obligations and was incorrect.
“Unfortunately, we have identified decimal point errors in submissions from system users in Malta and Italy,” the statement said.
“The revised figure is 520 tonnes, compared to Malta’s reported 520,000 tonnes. Italy’s revised figure is 50,200 tonnes (instead of 604,040 tonnes).”
In some cases, the total amount of waste and residue collected was only reported as UCO.
“ISCC is in the process of working with certification bodies to clarify discrepancies and adjust figures accordingly,” a spokesperson told Euractiv.
certification
To prevent fraud, biofuel producers must obtain certification from the private sector scheme Approved by the European Commission or an EU member state.
To date, 15 voluntary and national certification schemes have been recognized by the Commission. ISCC is the largest certification body of its kind in Europe.
Certification bodies are tasked with ensuring that applicable biofuels on the EU market comply with relevant EU sustainability standards. This includes proving that the raw material does not originate from high carbon stock land that has been converted for raw material production, such as forests or wetlands.
Certification bodies are also empowered to carry out verification audits on biofuel companies to ensure compliance with EU regulations and confirm the authenticity of raw materials.
But critics charge that the voluntary system is too weak to effectively combat fraud and call for stronger verification measures.
Last year, the European Commission launched an investigation into biofuels entering the region from China and the UK after Indonesian producers were suspected of using those countries to evade tariffs.
Furthermore, there are suspicions that virgin palm oil, which is restricted in the EU for sustainability reasons, is being illegally distributed as UCO.
To allay concerns, the E.U.Union database on biofuels”, which will track biofuels along the supply chain. However, the database is not fully operational yet.
“Global Sustainability Conference”
Issues surrounding the future of biofuel certification will be discussed at the next meeting. ISCC Global Sustainability Conference In Brussels on February 22nd. This annual conference brings together government officials, regulators, biofuel companies, and certification experts to discuss policy developments and challenges.
The conference, which comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of certification schemes, will consider topics including the rollout of the union database, expected growth in biofuel demand driven by aviation and maritime sector green fuel mandates, and new regulations. It is planned that Due Diligence Rules.
High-ranking European Commission officials, including Werner Bosmans from the Environment Directorate-General and Bernd Kupker from the Energy Directorate-General, will speak at the event.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
