Cars and Trucks Burn Almost Half of All Palm Oil Used in Europe

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June 02, 2016

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(Transport & Environment) ... In 2014, 45% of all the palm oil used in Europe ended up in the tanks of cars and trucks, data from EU vegetable oil industry association Fediol and obtained by green group Transport & Environment has revealed. This is equivalent to four Olympic-size swimming pools of palm oil every day. [1] It’s the first time that the sources of biodiesel in Europe have been made public.

An earlier analysis of a European Commission study revealed that the climate impact of biodiesel from palm oil is three times that of fossil diesel because palm expansion drives deforestation and peatland drainage in South-East Asia, Latin America and Africa. [2]

Europe’s use of palm oil in diesel increased six fold between 2010 and 2014. This explosion has fueled all of the 34% growth in biodiesel consumption in Europe in that period. Europe does not produce palm oil because palm trees need a tropical climate to grow in. READ MORE and MORE (Biofuels Digest)