On April 4, Members of the European Parliament passed a resolution,
calling for the European Union to introduce a single certification
scheme for palm oil entering the EU market and phase out the use of
vegetable oils that drive deforestation by 2020. The resolution, which
was approved by 640 votes to 18, with 28 abstentions, strives to counter
the impact of unsustainable palm oil production, such as deforestation
and habitat degradation, particularly in South-East Asia, MEPs said.
“We want an open debate with all players so we can make palm oil
production sustainable, without cutting down forests and in compliance
with dignified human rights conditions,” said Czech MEP
Kateřina Konečná from GUE/NGL, who drafted.
“This is Parliament’s first resolution on this issue and it is up to
the Commission how it acts upon it. But we cannot ignore the problem of
deforestation, which threatens the Global Agreement on Climate Change
COP21 and UN Sustainable Development Goals”, she added.
UK MEP and ALDE shadow rapporteur
Catherine Bearder
called for putting an end to the unsustainable production of palm oil,
which has a grave impact on the world’s climate and biodiversity. “EU
countries must act to ensure all palm oil entering the EU is 100%
sustainable, is traceable back to the source and to ensure consumers
know what they are buying,” Bearder said.
“However, simply removing palm oil from all products on our
supermarket shelves will not stop deforestation, which is why we have
today called for all tropical oils which drive deforestation to also be
phased out,” she said. “On the issue of biofuels, it is important to
underline that we are only calling for the phasing out of oils that
drive deforestation.”
Greens/EFA shadow
Benedek Jávor from Hungary said
the Parliament “has shown the way forward on how we can help protect the
world’s rainforests from the devastation currently being caused by
reckless palm oil production. The current approach is disastrous for the
environment and for local people whose livelihoods are dependent on the
ecosystems being destroyed. To prevent this, palm oil should only be
imported into the EU from sustainable sources”.
Jávor called for mandatory minimum standards for the cultivation of
palm oil and a comprehensive and binding sustainability certificate for
producers and traders. “The Commission should now follow up with
concrete steps to reduce the impact of European consumption of palm oil,
including phasing out its use in biofuels by 2020 at the latest,” he
said.
At the vote, MEPs reminded that 46% of the palm oil imported by the
EU is used to produce biofuels, requiring the use of about one million
hectares of tropical soils. They called on the Commission to take
measures to phase out the use of vegetable oils that drive
deforestation, including palm oil, as a component of biofuels,
preferably by 2020.
MEPs noted that various voluntary certification schemes promote the
sustainable cultivation of palm oil. However, their standards are open
to criticism and are confusing for consumers, they say. They advocate a
single certification scheme to guarantee that only sustainably produced
palm oil enters the EU market, they said.
They also called on the EU to introduce sustainability criteria for
palm oil and products containing palm oil entering the EU market. The
Commission should improve the traceability of palm oil imported into the
EU and should consider applying different customs duty schemes that
reflect real costs more accurately until the single certification scheme
takes effect.
MEPs also stressed that a large part of the global production of palm
oil is in breach of fundamental human rights and adequate social
standards. It frequently uses child labour, and there are many land
conflicts between local and indigenous communities and palm oil
concession holders.
Environment organisations hailed the vote. “The Parliament is right
to recognise the huge responsibility that the EU has to stop
deforestation, and how important this is for climate action and
sustainable development,” Greenpeace EU forest Policy Director
Sebastien Risso
said. “We are at one minute to midnight – the 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.”
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/meps-call-strict-rules-palm-oil-entering-eu-market/