rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/tell-your-msp-no-biofuels-at-grangemouth?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-tell-your-msp-no-biofuels-at-grangemouth' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Biofuelwatch https://actionnetwork.org/groups/biofuelwatch https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/letters/photos/000/403/777/normal/image_for_action.png In April, the Grangemouth oil refinery in Falkirk, Scotland ceased operations with the loss of over four hundred jobs. Petroineos, the fossil fuel-petrochemical conglomerate that owns the site, are pushing for the government to authorise a conversion to a biofuel refinery. Proposed pathways include importing ‘used cooking oil’ (more often than not fraudulently labelled palm or other vegetable oil), using wood from Scottish forests, getting Scottish farmers to grow oilseed monocultures, making the highly potent greenhouse gas methane out of sewage and farm slurry, or producing fuels from leftover animal fats from abattoirs. These pathways would produce pollution, encourage harmful land use change and allow for the continued expansion of damaging transport habits such as unchecked aviation. Many of the fuels the refinery would produce under the proposed plans would be destined for aircraft, explaining the government’s eagerness for the conversion since they are planning at least eight airport expansions (Heathrow, Bristol, Stansted, Southampton, Manston, London City and Luton 1 and 2), despite being advised against this by the Climate Change Committee, and the Court of Appeal’s 2020 ruling that expanding Heathrow breaks our national obligations under the Paris Agreement. The government and aviation industry continue to bank on ‘sustainable’ aviation fuel, despite the fact that targets for scaling up, such as 10% by 2020, have been consistently missed, and these fuels are currently only 0.3% of jet fuel globally. They are projected to be able to mitigate no more than 5% of aviation emissions by 2030. Many of the proposed fuels still produce carbon emissions. Biofuels are not a genuine solution. Instead, Biofuelwatch is calling for a genuinely just transition, that provides workers with meaningful, long-term and secure work in the industries of the future. We need MSPs to hear our message, but they are much more likely to listen to their constituents. Please contact your MSP and ask them to oppose any conversion of the Grangemouth refinery to biofuels. You could even ask to arrange a meeting to discuss this issue with them further. You can find more information in our MSP briefing here. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-msp-no-biofuels-at-grangemouth