MEPs have voted overwhelmingly to ban biofuels made from vegetable oils including palm oil by 2020, to prevent the EU\u2019s renewable transport targets from inadvertently contributing to deforestation.<\/p>\n
A new palm oil regulation, minimum sustainability criteria, customs duty reforms and anti-deforestation articles in future EU trade deals were also approved with a 640-18 majority.<\/p>\n
The motion has stirred a diplomatic hornet\u2019s nest, with seven countries \u2013 including Indonesia, Malaysia, Costa Rica and Ecuador \u2013 warning of a trade dispute if the ban is acted upon.<\/p>\n
While the report is not binding, EU lawmakers are now drawing up amendments to EU legislation which would be legally enforceable if approved by the European commission and council.
\nWhat does boycotting palm oil achieve? \u2013 live chat
\nJoin us on this page on Wednesday 5 April, 1-2pm (BST) to discuss how consumers fit into the debate around the sustainability of palm oil
\nRead more<\/p>\n
The proposals could also be included in a palm oil assessment that the commission is expected to publish later this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s vote is just the beginning,\u201d said Kate\u0159ina Kone\u010dn\u00e1, the report\u2019s rapporteur. \u201cThe European parliament has showed that it will no longer be silent on this issue, and we have asked the commission to act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Industry associations representing some biofuels sectors welcomed the parliamentary vote, with some calling for MEPs to go further.<\/p>\n
Emmanuel Desplechin, the secretary-general of the European renewable ethanol association, said: \u201cWe call on the European parliament to translate its position into binding requirements and limit the contribution of transport fuels from palm oil and its derivatives to the share of renewables in transport in the renewable energy directive until peatland drainage is halted.\u201d
\nAdvertisement<\/p>\n
At issue is the role played by the EU\u2019s target of sourcing 10% of transport fuels from renewables by 2020 in driving deforestation. The mandate\u2019s introduction coincided with a five-fold increase in the use of palm oil for biodiesel, according to trade data.<\/p>\n
Studies have found (pdf) that overseas demand for palm oil, soy, beef, wood and other agricultural products are key drivers of illegal forest clearances in Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe European commission must not lose more time in putting forward an EU action plan to make Europe a deforestation-free economy and turn the tide on global forest destruction,\u201d said Greenpeace spokesperson Sebastien Risso.<\/p>\n
Tropical forests now account for just 7% of the world\u2019s vegetation but are under threat from a predicted doubling in palm oil demand by mid-century.<\/p>\n
Palm plantations are already estimated to cover up to 27m hectares of land globally, a landmass the size of New Zealand, and even this may be an underestimate.
\nFrom rainforest to your cupboard: the real story of palm oil – interactive
\nRead more<\/p>\n
Analysis by the Zoological society of London last month found that nearly a million hectares of undisclosed land owned by the world\u2019s major palm oil companies had gone missing from the inventories.<\/p>\n
But trade associations aligned with vegetable oil-based crop holdings say that robust action could threaten the livelihoods of smallholders \u2013 40% of palm oil producers \u2013 just as palm oil-producing-countries have begun taking steps to limit the damage done by unsustainable practices.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of cutting back, the EU should instead go further in its support,\u201d said Anita Neville, a sustainability VP at Golden Agri-Resources, Indonesia\u2019s largest grower of oil palm. \u201cThe EU can achieve much more by acting as a powerful incentive for sustainable development than by limiting ties.\u201d
\nAdvertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cA ban is not constructive,\u201d agreed Jelmen Haaze, the co-chair of the European sustainable palm oil advocacy group. \u201cIt is an illusion to think we can take one commodity out of the economy and solve all our problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking at the Strasbourg plenary yesterday, Karmenu Vella, the EU\u2019s environment commissioner, welcomed the study and pledged to report on the feasibility of new action to halt deforestation by mid-year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also have to look, for example, at our own consumption of agricultural commodities that are often associated with deforestation, such as soy and palm oil, here in the EU,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s lobby of biofuels producers is one of the most powerful in Brussels, spending \u20ac14m a year and employing 400 lobbyists in total \u2013 more than the commission\u2019s entire energy directorate, according to Oxfam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MEPs have voted overwhelmingly to ban biofuels made from vegetable oils including palm oil by 2020, to prevent the EU\u2019s renewable transport targets from inadvertently contributing to deforestation. A new palm oil regulation, minimum sustainability criteria, customs duty reforms and anti-deforestation articles in future EU trade deals were also approved with a 640-18 majority. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[],"supplier":[4514],"class_list":["post-42552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","supplier-european-parliament"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42552\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42552"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=42552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}