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WQ.219/2022
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BY DEPUTY R.J. WARD OF ST. HELIER CENTRAL
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 17th OCTOBER 2022 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 24th OCTOBER 2022
Question
“In relation to renewable diesel fuel, will the Minister advise -
- whether he will be supporting the increased use of renewable diesel (of any brand) in any way in Jersey either in the next year or subsequent years of his term;
- if not, what he assesses to be the obstacles to promoting renewable diesel of any brand; and
- whether he has considered the claims made by Rubis in respect of renewable diesel on their website and, if so, what assessment he has made of those claims?”
Answer
- In line with the Carbon Neutral Roadmap policies TR3 on supporting transition fuels and TR3b to investigate the potential for renewable content petrol and diesel for Jersey, I believe that renewable fuels do have a role to play in the transition to net zero. These fuels enable customers to reduce emissions from their fossil fuel use by choosing to use an alternative product.
Due to current energy market uncertainty and price volatility, further work is required to assess the best option for implementation of these policies.
- See answer (a) above.
- There are three key aspects of renewable diesel that my officers consider in terms of the environmental credentials of these products. These are:
• That they are made 100% from renewable non-fossil fuel materials
• That they are not made from crops that would otherwise be used as a food source
• That the broader sustainability credentials of the product and its supply chain can be ascertained
While the first two items are relatively easy to verify, establishing the required standards and providing proof of the broader sustainability credentials of the product and fully understanding the supply chain is more difficult.
Controversy particularly comes from the use of palm oil and the biodiversity impact of palm plantations in rainforests. The percentage of palm oil used in a product and where it is sourced from, as well as if it is virgin palm oil or pulp, must be considered. The key thing around this is that the supplier knows where its palm oil comes from. Manufacturers are currently working on products without any palm oil content and this is likely to come in the next 5-10 years. The certification processes around this supply chain are developing (for example, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) and we will support local suppliers in following the highest standards as they develop.