UFOP urges action as fraud and insolvencies undermine GHG quota market

With EMOVY joining the ADAC in exiting greenhouse gas (GHG) quota trading, the Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP) warns of deepening disruption in the sector.
The insolvencies, UFOP says, are collateral damage from mounting cases of fraud involving imported biodiesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), notably from China and a fictitious HVO facility in Dubai.
The fraud’s impact is being worsened by the double counting of fake volumes toward GHG reduction obligations, driving quota prices down to €80–€90 per tonne of CO₂.
This surplus is already depressing oilseed and biofuel prices, with physical biofuel blending in fossil diesel falling from 2.621 to 2.065 million tonnes in 2024—despite a rising GHG quota obligation.
UFOP notes that while the previous government temporarily suspended quota transfers, this only delayed the sector's collapse. E-mobility firms, once incentivised to generate GHG quota value to help fund charging infrastructure, are among the hardest hit.
UFOP is calling for swift investigation and prosecution of suspected fraud, stronger oversight of certification systems, and legal scrutiny of due diligence obligations.
The organisation cites implausible emissions savings, such as over 130% from Ethiopian mustard biodiesel, as evidence of oversight failures.
UFOP urges the federal government to abolish double counting in the upcoming amendment to the Federal Immission Control Act, and to raise the GHG quota in line with expanding compliance options like e-mobility.