Animal fat use in green jet fuel soaring and could be worse than kerosene, study warns
The fat from dead pigs and cows is increasingly being used to power planes and cars as a greener alternative, which could end up being even worse for the environment than traditional jet fuel, new research has warned.
The use of animal fat in biodiesel has increased by forty times since 2006, and demand is set to triple by 2030 compared to 2021, according to the study by green campaigners Transport and Environment (T&E).
But there is not enough waste animal fat to scale it up sustainably.
All the animal fat that already exists – usually coming from unwanted animal body parts in abattoirs – is already used in things like candles, cosmetics and pet food.
A transatlantic flight between Paris and New York would need the fat from 8,800 dead pigs each way, according to T&E calculations.
However, animal fats are just one component of sustainable fuel, along with things like vegetable fats and waste crops – and sustainable fuel is still dwarfed by kerosene.
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Tom Heap looks at what the aviation industry is doing to become more climate-friendly
But the figure “illustrates the size of the problem,” Matt Finch from T&E told Sky News. “There are hundreds of transatlantic flights every day. Animal fats will be sucked into aviation, that’s an absolute given.
“But dead animals don’t grow on trees, so if aviation suddenly wants to use a lot of animal fats in its fuels, it can’t be used by other sectors.”
Those sectors would likely turn to palm oil instead, which is cheap and has similar properties.
But all the palm oil produced is already used too, so increased demand would likely require slashing more tropical rainforest to create more plantations.
“This is the worst environmental outcome possible,” said Mr Finch.
If virgin palm oil were to substitute animal fats, CO2 emissions of animal fats biofuels could be up to 1.7 times worse than conventional diesel, the research says.
The shift in uses can “therefore significantly undermine the climate benefits of using animal fats biofuels”, it warns.
The EU is bringing in a sustainable aviation fuel mandate that would allow potentially unlimited amount of animal fats in sustainable fuels.
The UK is still consulting on plans, but is likely to cap animal fats at a maximum of 2%, or ban them altogether.
That’s “good news,” for the impact on palm oil, said Mr Finch. But he beleives the UK mandate risks relying too much on waste products, which are always only ever available in limited volumes.
According to Mr Finch, the most environmentally friendly alternative, is to replace jet fuel with a blend of “green” hydrogen – made from clean electricity – with carbon captured at source from things like factories. But this is expensive and supply is limited at the moment.
A spokesperson from Sustainable Aviation, the UK aviation industry sustainability coalition, called sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) a “here and now solution to decarbonising UK flights.
“They are made from a wide variety of feedstocks that must meet strict sustainability criteria, do not compete with food production and are rigorously certified.
“Future UK SAF production will be largely based on feedstocks like black-bag waste or waste gases.
“The UK has enough feedstock for SAF use to help aviation achieve net zero by 2050, alongside synthetic SAFs made from captured carbon and green hydrogen that we expect to see next decade.”
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Comedy writer Bill Dare, – who worked on shows including Spitting Image and Dead Ringers – has died after an accident overseas, his agent said.
Described as a “super producer” by his peers, Dare, 64, worked on eight series of hugely popular satire puppet show Spitting Image.
Airing on ITV during the 1980s and 1990s, the show delighted in lampooning public figures including politicians, celebrities and royalty, winning BAFTAs and Emmys. It was rebooted in 2020.
Dare also created Dead Ringers, a comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
He also produced The Now Show, a satirical take on the news which ran on Radio 4 from 1998 to 2024.
Dare worked on a wide range of comedy shows during his career, including the radio production of The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had also written several novels.
In a statement released on Monday, his agent JFL Agency confirmed he died at the weekend.
A spokesperson said: “We are shocked and greatly saddened to have to announce the death of our brilliant client Bill Dare, who died at the weekend following an accident overseas.
“Our thoughts are with his wife Lucy, daughter Rebecca, and with all of Bill’s family and friends who will be devastated by his loss.
“Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none.”
Oasis depicted on Spitting Image in 1996. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Colleagues were quick to pay tribute and reflect on his talent.
Impressionist Jon Culshaw wrote on X: “It’s impossible to express the unreal sense of loss at the passing of the incredible Bill Dare. The wisest comedy alchemist and the dearest, dearest friend. Much love to Lucy and all Bill’s family and friends. We shall all miss him more than we can say.”
David Baddiel posted on the social media platform: “Just heard that the original producer of The Mary Whitehouse Experience on radio, Bill Dare, has died. Bill was an amazing creative force. I owe him much. RIP.”
Former EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was “devastated” and that her “entire comedy career was down to Bill”.
She wrote: “When I was on the BBC Radio 4 rep company early on in career – I ran into Bill in the corridors – He asked if I was good at accents. I said yes.
“He cast me in a sketch show. I had to do about 15 different accents. We recorded in front of a live audience at Broadcasting House – afterwards Bill said ‘Why have I never met you – you’re going to have a big career’.
“He was incredibly loyal and supportive and really opened a path for me into the R4 comedy world and then TV having come out of the RSC and theatre it was all new. I will always be grateful. Fly high Bill.”
Comedian and writer Mark Steel wrote: “This is so grim. Bill was a compassionate hearty soul with the ability to be beautifully grumpy, a marvellously thoughtful comic mind.
“He’d argue but always listen and you’d always laugh, he made a million shows and wanted them all to matter and would have made a million more.”
Have I Got News for You writer Pete Sinclair said: “I am utterly devastated by Bill’s death. I still can’t believe it. He was a comedy genius. A hugely talented writer as well as a brilliant producer. A close friend and co-writer. I cannot begin to say how much I’ll miss him.”
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Julia McKenzie, comedy commissioner for Radio 4, said: “I am so terribly sorry to hear this tragic news and my thoughts are with Bill’s wife, family and friends.
“Bill has been a huge part of Radio 4 comedy for decades, as a writer and producer, and listeners will have heard his legendary name at the end of many of their favourite shows.
“Bill was a comedy obsessive, and very instinctive about making the funniest choices when it came to writing, directing and editing.
“He cared so much about his work that in the production booth during Dead Ringers you’d see him crouched over the script, utterly focused on the show.
“He was funny and very dry in person, amusingly cynical when he needed to be and always pushed to keep the comedy he made, and particularly satire, spiky.
“I’ve known and worked with him for 18 years and like many I can’t believe he has gone, he will leave a big hole in the comedy world and in our hearts.”
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