Airlines are racing to source sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to meet emissions mandates, but criminals are exploiting the system. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) and used cooking oils (UCO) are common SAF feedstocks, yet fraud is rampant. In Indonesia, officials were arrested for mislabeling virgin palm oil as waste. Malaysia exports three times more UCO than it collects, raising suspicions that virgin palm oil is being blended in. Once refined into jet fuel, detecting the fraud is nearly impossible. This undermines the environmental case for SAF and risks reputational damage for airlines that unknowingly use it. Carbon offsetting under CORSIA faces similar problems. Tree planting schemes in Africa have been hit by double counting and weak verification, with the same forest protected under multiple programs. Transport & Environment argues that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is more robust. To avoid these pitfalls, Europe should produce advanced SAF domestically from feedstocks like sewage sludge or synthetic e-fuels made from captured CO2 and green hydrogen. However, eSAF remains expensive and banks are reluctant to fund early stage facilities. Until production scales up and verification improves, the aviation industry's green credentials remain on shaky ground.
