120 Pigs Per Car: Oil Lobby’s EU Biofuels Loophole Could See Unsustainable Demand for Animal Fats and Used Cooking Oil - CleanTechnica

The article from CleanTechnica highlights concerns over a potential loophole in the EU’s 2035 zero-emission car law that would allow new combustion engines running on biofuels, such as animal fats and used cooking oil, to continue being sold. This loophole, supported by the fuels and car industries as well as the Italian government, could drastically increase demand for advanced biofuels derived from waste feedstocks. However, the sustainable supply of these biofuels is limited, and the demand from cars, aviation, and shipping sectors could be two to nine times higher than what can be sustainably sourced by 2050. For example, running one car on animal fats would require the equivalent of 120 pigs annually, illustrating the unsustainable scale of resource use. This increased demand risks diverting scarce biofuels away from hard-to-decarbonize sectors like aviation and shipping, and could undermine Europe’s transition to electric vehicles. The article also points out that Europe already imports over 80%