Industry group Fuels for Ireland has strongly criticised suggestions to restrict the use of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) as a feedstock for renewable fuels, calling it an abdication of responsibility by legislators and regulators, and a concession to fraudsters.

The warning follows reports that the National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA) has advised the Department of Transport to curtail POME’s eligibility under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation Scheme, citing concerns over fraud in the global biofuels market.

POME has been at the centre of significant allegations of fraudulent labelling regarding its use as a feedstock in renewable fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).

ADVERTISEMENT

Failure

However, Kevin McPartlan, CEO of Fuels for Ireland, said the issue is not the product, but the failure to protect supply chains from fraudulent activity by bad actors.

“Let’s be clear: POME is a recognised waste-based feedstock, actively endorsed by the EU under the Renewable Energy Directive. It has no food or feed value and would otherwise be discarded” he said.

“To restrict its use because some actors have committed fraud is illogical — it blames the product for the failure to police it, despite POME being a sustainable, waste-based fuel that delivers real emissions savings”.

“Punishing the use of legitimate POME because others have abused the system is like shutting down a legitimate business because someone else faked their license. It’s not just bad policy, it’s lazy governance. We should be fixing the loopholes, not abandoning ambition” he said.

“Fraud must be tackled through enforcement, not by undermining the legitimate use of sustainable biofuels. Those in whom authority for the certification of the sustainability of biofuel feedstocks is vested cannot be allowed to shirk their responsibilities” said McPartlan.

A policy problem, not a product problem

POME has come under scrutiny in recent years following reports of virgin palm oil being mislabelled to qualify for incentives.

However, the groups said that the real issue is not with POME itself, it is with a failure by regulatory authorities to enforce rules and uphold the integrity of certification systems.

Fuels for Ireland said that, along with other responsible industry actors, has long called for stronger enforcement and more credible oversight of certification regimes, such as the Union Database for Biofuels, currently being rolled out by the European Commission.

“The problem isn’t POME. The problem is insufficient oversight,” said McPartlan.

“Walking away from sustainable biofuels isn’t a fix. It’s a failure of enforcement. Ireland must act alongside the European institutions to uphold a rigorous, unified regime for sustainable fuels” he explained.

“That means building enforcement capacity at an EU level, not reaching for performative unilateral gestures that hurt legitimate operators while doing nothing to deter fraud” concluded McPartlan