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Automobile, aviation and transport industries would require 2-9 occasions the superior biofuels that may be sustainably sourced in 2050.
Inserting a biofuels loophole within the EU 2035 automobiles legislation might see an enormous spike in demand for biofuels from waste feedstocks like animal fat, used cooking oil and palm oil by-products, new T&E evaluation finds. A automotive operating on animal fat, for instance, would require the equal of 120 pigs a yr. This extra demand might result in automobiles, planes and ships consuming two to 9 occasions extra superior biofuels than will be sustainably sourced sooner or later.
The EU is underneath stress from the fuels and automobiles industries to permit new combustion engines operating on biofuels to be bought after its 2035 deadline for zero-emission automobiles. This loophole, which can also be supported by the Italian authorities, would see automobiles gobble up the very restricted provides of sustainable, superior biofuels and make it harder to inexperienced hard-to-decarbonise sectors like aviation. Primarily based on present European targets, planes and ships alone would require roughly double the quantity of superior biofuels than will be sustainably sourced in Europe — in probably the most optimistic situation — in 2050.
Lucien Mathieu, automobiles director at T&E, stated: “The push for biofuels is absurd. Europeans can’t eat sufficient pork or fries to sustainably run even a fraction of Europe’s automobiles not to mention its ships and planes. Why are the automotive and oil lobbies flogging non-solutions when we now have a prepared expertise in electrical automobiles? That is nothing however a delay tactic that can depart Europe uncompetitive within the world EV market.”
Superior biofuels akin to waste-based fuels aren’t scalable. Europe already imports greater than 80% of its used cooking oil from locations like China and Malaysia. Animal fat are one of the crucial in style waste feedstocks. Already right now, European automobiles use 1.3 million tonnes of animal fat per yr — equal to 200 million slaughtered pigs. For each new automotive operating on animal fat, round 120 pigs can be required a yr, the evaluation finds. Alternatively, a brand new automotive operating on used cooking oil would wish 25 kg of fries per day.
An enormous hole between the demand and the supply of sustainably sourced biofuels can even enhance Europe’s dependency on imports. Presently, T&E estimates that 60% of Europe’s biofuels — together with crop-based and superior — are imported from third-countries. With the additional demand for automobiles created by a biofuels loophole, this might rise to 90% in 2050, the evaluation finds.
A higher dependency on biofuels imports would additionally enhance the danger of fraud the place virgin palm oil and different edible vegetable oils are handed off as waste oils. Earlier investigations by T&E have proven alarming mismatches in waste biofuel imports into Europe, strongly suggesting fraud is happening. For instance, Europe imports 3 times extra used cooking oil from Malaysia than will be collected within the nation. In one other investigation, T&E confirmed that Europe imports extra palm oil mill effluent — a palm oil byproduct — than will be collected globally.
Final week the German automotive foyer VDA joined with automotive provider affiliation CLEPA and 28 fuels corporations and associations to inform the EU Fee that autos operating on biofuels ought to be handled as zero emissions after 2035.¹ The European carmaker affiliation ACEA has known as for a “pragmatic implementation” of guidelines permitting new automobiles powered by carbon impartial fuels to be registered after 2035.²
Notes to editors:
¹ “Automobiles operating solely on renewable fuels, have to be recognised as zero-emission autos… These fuels shall embody renewable and/or artificial fuels, akin to biofuel, biogas, biomass gas, renewable liquid and gaseous transport gas of non-biological origin (RFNBO) or a recycled carbon gas (RCF).”
Joint letter by VDA, CLEPA and fuels corporations and associations to the EU Fee: https://www.vda.de/dam/jcr:c2010722-0e33-43f3-b1d1-c6d17ab07835/2025_Jointpercent20Statement_ENG.pdf?mode=view
² ACEA place paper, October 2025, web page 8. ACEA-policy-paper-EU-regulatory-framework-for-the-decarbonisation-of-road-transport.pdf
Information launch from T&E. Featured picture by Marion Streiff from Pixabay.
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