EU urged to act on 'obvious' biofuel fraud

With the EU's demand for used cooking oil (UCO) possibly doubling to six million tonnes by 2030, the EU must act quickly to prevent its sustainable biofuel policy from becoming a farce due to fraudsters in these countries sending unsustainable palm oil instead of the more expensive UCO.

Oil palm plantations in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. File picture.

Fraudsters have been lining up to cheat the EU ever since it started promoting biofuels as renewable energy in the 1990s.

Just how big the scams have been is now revealed by Indonesia, one of the biggest exporters of biofuel feedstocks to the EU.