Palm oil receives support
MEP Julie Girling invited the Indonesian Ambassador to the EU as well as stakeholders from the NGO and industry sides to the European Parliament on 5 April to debate on the best ways to achieve the goal of 100% sustainable palm oil by 2020.
In December 2015, ESPOAG organisations signed along with other private sector organisations and national palm oil alliances, a commitment to support 100% sustainable palm oil in Europe by 2020.
Certified sustainable palm oil today represents 21% of global palm oil production. Even though there is enough certified sustainable palm oil available to supply the European market, there is still a 50% gap between supply and demand. The panellists exchanged their views and debated with the public in order to identify solutions to bridge this gap between supply and demand of sustainable palm oil.
Yuri Thamrin, excellency ambassador reaffirmed the commitment of the Indonesian government to pursue its engagement towards a 100% sustainable palm oil production. He says: “We are ready to consider good cooperation projects with our partners in Europe to attain 100% sustainable palm oil and overcome all impediments.”
Participants agreed that strong collaboration between suppliers and users is key to drive the change across all markets and sectors. The transition towards a sustainable supply chain and compliance with SPO standards implies extra costs that smallholder farmers cannot bear without specific support. European SMEs must also be given support to map their supply chain and to get access to sustainable fractions in a cost effective manner. On the demand side, the uptake depends on the willingness of consumers to pay for sustainable palm oil.
The discussion identified that parties should keep working on “definitions, criteria and standards to set a common goal for sustainable palm oil and for the reduction of deforestation.” Emmanuelle Maire, DG Env, announced that the European Commission “plans to launch a specific study on the environmental impact of palm oil consumption and on existing sustainability standards. The results should be available in 2017”.
MEP Julie Girling concluded the meeting by welcoming the approaches of the panellists and stressing the need for further cooperation to reach 100% sustainable palm oil.
