Low carbon liquid fuels (LCLFs) produce lower greenhouse gas emissions than the conventional fuels they replace. Emissions are counted across the fuel’s whole life cycle, from growing or collecting the feedstock through to burning the fuel. The emissions released at the point of use are only part of that picture: a fuel’s overall profile also depends on how it is grown, produced, moved and verified, and on who it affects along the way.
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Why this matters in Australia
Domestic production
Australia is building the policy, regulatory and certification foundations for a domestic low carbon liquid fuel industry. What gets built, and under what conditions, depends on the environmental and social criteria applied at home.
Feedstock exports
Australia already exports about $3.9 billion of liquid fuel feedstocks, such as canola, tallow and used cooking oil, to be processed overseas . Producers and exporters need to understand the environmental and social criteria that apply in the markets where those feedstocks are used, as well as those at home.
What a low carbon claim depends on
A low carbon claim is about a fuel’s life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared with the conventional fuel it replaces. Emissions are only one part of how a fuel performs; a full assessment also considers:
Land
How feedstocks are grown, what land they use, and whether that land was cleared or converted.
Water & biodiversity
Pressure on freshwater resources and effects on ecosystems where feedstocks are produced.
Social & economic
Labour conditions, community impacts and food security along the supply chain.
Verification & governance
Whether there is credible evidence that a batch of fuel matches the claim made about it.
Energy security
Whether the fuel supports reliable, affordable supply over time.
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Sustainability
How sustainability is defined for these fuels, how life-cycle emissions are assessed, and how claims are verified.
Traceability
How fuels are tracked through the supply chain, the chain-of-custody models in use, and the major frameworks that underpin credible claims.
Food, fuel and fibre
How feedstocks for low carbon liquid fuels interact with food, feed and fibre production, and how this interaction is managed.
Who sets the rules and who certifies them
Several different kinds of rules lay out how a fuel can be claimed as low carbon: meeting their criteria is what lets a claim be made. Governments and standards bodies write the rules; accredited, independent certification bodies audit producers and their fuel against them.
Not all schemes do the same job: some certify a fuel’s emissions, some certify broader sustainability, and some set eligibility rules for markets or funding.
Step 1
The rule-makers
Governments and standards bodies write or recognise the rules.
Step 2
The written rules
Acts, standards and scheme documents set the criteria a fuel must meet.
Step 3
The certifiers
Independent certification bodies audit fuels against the criteria.
The result
The verified claim
A batch of fuel carries a claim that buyers and regulators can trust.
A note on greenhouse gas accounting
Greenhouse gas accounting and fuel sustainability are related but different. Accounting is how countries and companies report their emissions; Australia reports nationally under the UNFCCC, and companies report under the NGER scheme . Fuel certification instead lets a specific batch of fuel carry a claim.
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