Eni to Stop Using Palm Oil to Make Biodiesel by 2023
May 15 2020 - 9:42AM
Dow Jones News
By Maitane Sardon
Italian energy giant Eni SpA said Friday that it is reviewing
its supply chain with the aim to eliminate the use of palm oil and
its derivative PFAD by 2023.
The move comes as the EU works toward its goal of reducing to
zero the use of high-emitting biofuels by 2030 after concluding
last year that palm-oil diesel is unsustainable.
The oil-and-gas company said the measure is part of the wider
decarbonization strategy it put it place in its 2020-23 strategic
plan. In February, Eni announced plans to cut oil production from
2025, add more renewable-energy projects and reduce by 80%
emissions for the entire life cycle of the products it makes.
Eni said it aims to stop using palm oil and palm fatty acid
distillate--a residue from the palm-oil refining process--to make
its biodiesels by the end of 2023. It also plans to increase its
capacity to make fuel from biomass or raw materials to 5 million
tons a year by 2050, which will lead to a reduction of its absolute
lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions of 30% by 2035 and 80% by 2050
from 2018 levels.
Eni said it transformed into biofuels 242,000 tons of palm oil,
23,000 tons of palm-oil mill effluent, 31,000 tons of used cooking
oils and 8,000 tons of other oils in 2019.
"This is a step in the right direction to protect the world's
remaining rainforests, our climate and orangutans," said Cristina
Mestre, biofuels manager at Transport & Environment, a European
research and advocacy group. "To make sure Eni fulfills its
promise, we urge the Italian government and members of parliament
to end all support for palm-oil diesel in 2021... and for soy
diesel too, as it's another oil crop that drives
deforestation."
Earlier this year, Eni was fined 5 million euros ($5.4 million)
by the Italian competition authority for an advertisement campaign
about its Diesel+ fuel in which it claimed "green diesel"
contributes to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and encouraged
customers to adopt it to "protect the environment." The Italian
watchdog concluded that only the biodiesel component of the fuel
might be environmentally friendly, not the whole product.
Eni, which has appealed the fine, told Dow Jones Newswires it
believes the messages about its Diesel+ fuel were correct.
Write to Maitane Sardon at maitane.sardon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 15, 2020 09:27 ET (13:27 GMT)
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