NGOs Call For IMO to Exclude Biofuels from Global Fuel Standard

Around 69 environmental organisations have sent a letter to the IMO Secretariat to exclude biofuels from the proposed GHG fuel standard. File Image / Pixabay

The Global Forest Coalition and Biofuelwatch are part of a group of 69 environmental NGOs that have sent a open letter to the IMO Secretariat, opposing the inclusion of biofuels in the proposed GHG fuel standard.

The letter also criticised the Brazilian government, which will host COP30 in Belém this November, for being a key IMO member advocating for biofuels in shipping to boost its growing biofuel market.

"If the IMO was to endorse biofuels as a 'low-carbon fuel', it would lead to more rainforest destruction and land-grabbing while in fact accelerating climate change," Almuth Ernsting of Biofuelwatch said.

Although these NGOs oppose crop-based biofuels, the majority of biofuel bunkers supplied to shipping currently are derived from sustainable waste-based feedstocks, such as used cooking oil, which comply with the strict sustainability guidelines set by ISCC.

Their broad opposition overlooks the fact that many biofuels in shipping are derived from waste feedstocks rather than crops, reducing emissions without competing with food production.

Several global bunker suppliers and trading firms have secured ISCC certifications, using them as a mark of quality to demonstrate their credentials for supplying biofuel blends.

Shipping companies have also invested in sustainable biofuels, with some conducting voluntary bunkering and committing to specific biofuel volumes in some cases.

However, environmental organisation T&E argues that there will not be enough sustainable biofuels to meet the shipping sector's demand.

"Waste biofuels will likely be able to cover just a small proportion of shipping's projected biofuels demand as their availability is limited, T&E said in an emailed statement on Monday.

"For example, a cargo ship travelling between China and Brazil would alone require the yearly waste oil from more than 2000 McDonald's restaurants, while to run it on animal fats you would need over 1 million pigs."

T&E calls on the IMO to define 'zero' and 'near-zero' fuels, ban deforestation-linked biofuels, cap food-based biofuels and promote green e-fuels from hydrogen.

The IMO is holding an intersessional meeting this week to negotiate mid-term GHG reduction measures, potentially including a global fuel standard and a carbon levy.