A new investigation has revealed that E10 petroleum’s supposed low greenhouse gas emissions have never been officially verified.
The investigation by the Daily Telegraph, found that auditors of government-approved fuel supplier Manildra were hired by the company and accept its assurances about E10 emissions.
A Manildra audit report shows “there is no legislative requirement in Australia for biofuel producers to have lower emissions than fossil fuel derived petrol and diesel”.
In a briefing from March 2016, Manildra said E10 “delivers a 30% reduction of greenhouse gases and other harmful exhaust emissions”.
The situation has raised concerns for the Department of Fair Trading about the claims, bureaucrats from Fair Trading visited the Manildra plant in June to try and check the claims.
Fair Trading director of consumer protection Michael Cooper said: “The auditor makes it quite clear that he has issued the certificate based on information supplied by Manildra”.
Manildra is required by law to be certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials, which is Geneva based however its green house standards are not enforced by Australian law.
A spokesperson for Manildra said the company had sustained certification through “implementation of all RSB’s environmental, social and economic principles and criteria”.