Belgium backs call for European inquiry into biofuel fraud
Belgium on Tuesday backed an Irish call for a European investigation into suspected fraud in biofuels made from palm oil waste. The volumes imported were far too large to be legitimate, Belgium's Energy minister said.
The European industry imports vegetable raw materials to produce biofuels, including palm oil mill effluent, or POME. This waste water from oil mills has been included in the list of raw materials for biofuels in the Renewable Energy Directive.
Palm oil itself has been banned from biofuels in Belgium and a number of other European countries, not least because of its role in deforestation. However, the high volume of POME-derived biofuels has led to suspicions that some of it actually contains palm oil.
Suspected fraud
The EU's biofuel targets have led to an increase in demand for raw materials, including POME. In an informal note published on Friday, Ireland warned of suspected fraud in the sector.
The total declared consumption of POME-based biofuels in the EU is said to exceed the estimated global production capacity. Ireland is therefore requesting an in-depth investigation by the European Commission.
This request was formalised in Luxembourg on Tuesday. "We join Ireland in its request," Tinne Van der Straeten, Belgium's Energy minister, said as she arrived for a meeting with her European counterparts in Luxembourg.
Sustainability criteria
"We ask the European Commission to include POMEs in its investigation into biofuels," said Van der Straeten. The aim is to ensure that imported biofuels meet European sustainability criteria and do not undermine the integrity of EU climate policy.
In Belgium, the volume of POME multiplied by 15 between 2021 and 2022. In 2023, it was 560 times higher than in 2021, according to figures provided by Van der Straeten.
In December 2023, the Commission announced that it was launching an investigation into unfair practices in Chinese biofuels. The Irish request is also supported by Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands.
The Ghana Oil Palm Development Company (GOPDC) in Kwae, Ghana. GOPDC is part of Siat Group, a Belgian rubber and palm oil company © PHOTO IMAGO
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