Greenpeace on EU sustainability guidelines on palm oil production

Antara 14 Jun 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The weak sustainability guidelines published by the European Union (EU) recently on biofuels, demonstrate the growing concern among consumer countries about palm oil production and deforestation, Greenpeace Southeast Asia said.

Under the new guidelines, palm oil producers will be required to show that they have not converted forests or drained peatlands after 2008, the environmentalist organization said in a press statement over the weekend.

"These new sustainability criteria are yet another indication that global markets are demanding palm oil producers to change their destructive practices. Palm oil from deforestation or peatland clearance going into biofuels is not an option," said Bustar Maitar, Forest Team Leader of Greenpeace South East Asia.

While the revised criteria are an improvement, including the closure of a major loophole - defining palm oil plantations as forests - they remain problematic because a number of issues are not dealt with.

The guidelines are still too weak to prevent conversion of some non-pristine forests, and are unclear on how proposed safeguards for peatland will work and be monitored, despite their critical importance.

The EU also failed to address the issue of indirect land-use change (ILUC) impacts , the biggest risk of biofuel expansion as highlighted by respected international institutions, Greenpeace said.

Greenpeace EU forest policy director Sebastien Risso said: "Dirty biofuels exacerbate climate change and lead to the destruction of rainforests. Under the current scheme, Europeans wanting to cut their carbon footprint could actually make the problem worse by using biofuels. The worst biofuels are actually more polluting than petrol and there is a very real risk that Europe`s cars will run on forest destruction and animal extinction."

The growing demand for palm oil, including for biofuels, is putting immense pressure on Indonesia`s forests. Annually, Indonesia loses almost 2 million hectares of forests, and is the third largest emitter on the planet.

In particular, the conversion of carbon-rich peat lands causes considerable Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.

"Multinationals and the EU are giving Indonesia`s industry and government a clear signal: stop clearing forests and draining peatlands. Now it is time to take the necessary steps to change the bad image of Indonesian palm oil. That means no more palm oil expansion to forests and peatlands," said Bustar Maitar.

"President Yudhoyono must go beyond his moratorium on new concessions and declare a moratorium on current deforestation and protect all peatlands," he added.