NGOs renew biofuel exclusion call
Biofuelwatch, the Global Forest Coalition (GFC) and AbibiNsroma Foundation are urging the IMO to commit to truly clean energy alternatives, stressing that including biofuels in the decarbonisation plan would undermine climate action and sustainability efforts.
Efforts are ramping up ahead of the IMOs’ climate summit in London on 31 March – 1 April, and 7-11 April.
“Biofuels have no place in any policy designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in shipping or in other forms of transport,” said Almuth Ernsting of Biofuelwatch.
“Any new demand for biofuels, regardless of the feedstock, either directly or indirectly increases the demand for land. Existing biofuel demand is far beyond what can possibly be met from genuine wastes and residues.”
The groups argue that biofuels, particularly those derived from crops like palm oil and soy, contribute to deforestation, biodiversity loss, human rights violations and food insecurity. Moreover, the use of biofuels produced from waste is limited and not scalable enough to meet the industry’s needs.
“The promotion of biofuels is a dangerous distraction from real climate action,” said Oli Munnion, forests and climate change campaign coordinator at GFC.
“We cannot afford to waste time and resources on fuels that still contribute to emissions and environmental destruction. The IMO must instead prioritise wind-assisted propulsion, electrification and other genuinely clean energy sources.”
Not only does the use of biofuel damage the environment and livelihoods, its production can be linked to fraud, argue the groups.
Reports, including one from CE Delft, reveal that the price of used cooking oil has consistently surpassed that of virgin palm oil, opening up the industry to the risk of fraud, with the Environmental Investigations Agency finding evidence of palm oil entering the EU mislabelled.
“Biofuels are a step backwards, not forward,” said Kenneth Nana Amoateng from AbibiNsroma Foundation, Ghana. “The IMO must reject false solutions and commit to a future powered by genuinely clean energy.”
