Palm oil in disguise? Fake 'green' diesel allegedly sold in Europe

Yahoo

10-04-2025

European drivers are being conned into buying a so-called renewable diesel found to contain a sludgy spin-off generated when palm oil is produced.
Palm oil mill effluent "is being blended into European biofuels," according to Transport & Environment, which describes itself as "Europe's leading advocates [sic] for clean transport & energy."
In other words, a type of diesel known as HVO, which is being marketed as green by big oil companies, is likely "fraudulent" due it being "palm oil in disguise."
"Data indicate that more palm oil residues are being reported than is actually possible, suggesting a high likelihood of fraud," Transport & Environment warns in a report published on April 9.
"After a decade of biofuel policies contributing to global deforestation, the EU began shifting toward waste-based alternatives like used cooking oil, animal fats, but also palm products, and residues," according to Transport & Environment, which warns that the shift to "so-called waste materials" has led to knock-on concern about what it calls "questionable imports."
The findings follow attempts by some European countries and the European Commission to reduce imports of palm oil, said to be the world's most widely used and most versatile vegetable oil, due to it being grown on deforested land in Indonesia and Malaysia.
An ingredient in a wide range of foods and cosmetics, palm oil is also made into a fuel and used in Asia for cooking.
The EU's campaign to reduce palm oil use has led to tensions with Indonesia and Malaysia, source countries for most of the world's exported palm oil, who argue in turn that the land needed to produce palm oil is far less than what is needed to grow enough other crops to produce the same amount of alternative oils.