The European Parliament has adopted a Resolution on palm oil and deforestation which calls on the European Commission to take measures to ensure the phasing out of palm oil in biofuels by 2020 and for a single certification scheme for palm oil entering the EU market.
In its report, adopted by 640 votes in favor and only 18 against, the lawmakers recommend environmental controls on palm oil production. This includes finding and promoting more sustainable alternatives for biofuel use citing the potential damaging impacts on the climate and environment (in particular linked with peatland drainage and deforestation) of palm oil production.
Specifically, the report argued that: “simply banning or phasing out the use of palm oil may give rise to replacement tropical vegetable oils being used for biofuel production, which would, in all probability, be grown in the same ecologically sensitive regions as palm oil and which may have a much higher impact on biodiversity, land use and greenhouse gas emissions than palm oil itself.”
The Parliament’s Resolution is non-binding but the Commission is likely to note that the Resolution also “calls for the introduction of sustainability criteria for palm oil and products containing palm oil entering the EU along with a single mandatory certification scheme.