EMEA News
EU Plans Stronger Safeguards for Biofuel Certification After China Imports Probe
The European Commission (EC) is preparing a range of actions to strengthen biofuel certification across the EU, following an investigation into alleged fraud involving biofuels imports from China.
The probe followed a March 2023 notification from German authorities about alleged fraud in biofuel imports from China, the EC's Directorate-General for Energy said in a statement on Friday.
Although no fraud was confirmed, the Commission found flaws in how certification audits were carried out.
"The Commission identified some systemic weaknesses in the way certification audits have been conducted and is taking action to address these issues," it said.
"Nevertheless, the information gathered did not allow confirmation of the existence of fraud.
"The German authorities may perform additional verifications or investigations if they wish to do so."
In response, a working group under the Committee on the Sustainability of Biofuels, Bioliquids, and Biomass Fuels is reflecting on possible revisions to the implementing regulation on sustainability certification.
"The working group has made good progress on additional measures that could better prevent fraud in the future," it noted.
A revised legal text is expected by early 2026, following input from stakeholders.
The Commission is also in talks with EU countries on setting a timeline for the full mandatory use of the union biofuels database -- a traceability system that is already operational but not yet used by all operators.
In parallel, it is reviewing voluntary certification schemes and may request updated fraud prevention plans, as part of wider reforms to be implemented by end-2025.
