Meeting Malaysia 11 May 2017
Initiative report of the European Parliament on palm oil and deforestation
of rainforests
Line to take
The Commission acknowledges the own initiative report of the European Parliament on
palm oil and deforestation of rainforests. This report represents a useful contribution to the
broader debate on palm oil production and deforestation issues, which we believe should
also fully involve producer countries.
This report is nonetheless not part of a legislative initiative: once adopted, it will not
become a piece of legislation or be binding on the Commission. Still, it reflects views and
concerns over palm oil production and deforestation issues put forward by various parts of
the EU public opinion as part of our democratic process. The interventions by many
Members of the European Parliament during the debate that took place before the
adoption of the Resolution has shown a broad range of positions and considerations on the
matter, confirming its multi-faceted nature. The Commission is preparing its response to
the Parliament report. This response will be released in the coming weeks and will remain
relatively general.
The Commission is aware that palm oil requires a balanced approach, as it presents both
opportunities and challenges, in particular in terms of environmental and social impacts,
such as deforestation and biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and indigenous
rights issues. But we are also aware of the opportunities that it presents in producing
countries as a significant source of livelihood for rural communities.
The Commission believes that it is essential to cooperate and support the efforts of
producer countries to minimise deforestation and other negative impacts that palm oil
cultivation can have, in order to achieve sustainable production of this commodity. We are
in this context interested in the efforts made by Malaysia to strengthen MSPO and look
forward to further exchanging and working together on this matter.
This is part of a broader policy approach, whereby the EU is keen to reduce negative
environmental impacts associated with any type of production. It should also be noted that
the Commission does not have a specific policy on palm oil.
The Commission has launched studies on how to best address deforestation and forest
degradation and on the environmental impacts of palm oil production, as well as on
certification schemes and legislation in place in producer countries. The outcomes of these
studies will provide a useful contribution to the on-going Commission work in these areas.
The Commission will also organize a conference on illegal logging and deforestation from
21 to 23 June in Brussels, including to discuss the drivers of deforestation and possible
EU action in that field. A large number of countries producing agriculture commodities,
including but not limited to palm oil, are invited, and we count on Malaysia's participation
in this event.
In line with its Trade for All strategy, the Commission is actively promoting sustainable
development in all trade agreements that it is currently negotiating, including by means of
ambitious trade and sustainable development chapters aimed at ensuring high levels of
environmental protection including sustainable forest management and the responsible
management of supply chains.
Defensives
Q: will the EU endorse the European Parliament's call for a single certification scheme for
palm oil which ignores existing schemes in place in Malaysia?
The EU is aware of the large number of certification schemes and sustainability standards
for palm oil, which can sometimes appear as complex to end consumers. The EU
recognizes also the efforts made by palm oil producer countries to develop and strengthen
their national certification schemes, such as MSPO in Malaysia.
We do not see the need for developing a single certification scheme for palm oil, and note
that national certification schemes have in some cases been developed to address the
specificities of the palm oil sector at national level. The EU is rather keen on building on
existing schemes, and continuing to work jointly with palm oil producer countries to see
how existing certification schemes can best be strengthened.
Q: The European Parliament's resolution singles out palm oil while a Commission study
from 2013 recognizes that palm oil is not the main driver of deforestation. Adopting import
restrictions on palm oil would be unfair and would not address the main drivers of
deforestation.
The EU is fully aware that a range of agriculture commodities is associated with
deforestation in third countries, and we are reflecting comprehensively on the challenges
of deforestation with no intention to single out palm oil. Studies show nonetheless that
palm oil is one of the drivers playing a role in the broader issue of deforestation, and palm
oil is therefore looked at in the framework of on-going studies by the European
Commission.
Q: EU imports of palm oil are decreasing. This is due to campaigns criticising palm oil in
the EU. How will the EU address this situation?
"Palm oil free" campaigns and labelling by various EU producers or brands are fully
voluntary, and there is no legislation in the EU barring a company or a consumer from
labelling a product “palm oil free” for marketing purposes, if this claim is indeed accurate.
For instance, European wheat producers are not satisfied with the rise of "gluten free"
products, but that is a reality that they have to deal with. The best means for producer
countries to react to such campaigns is therefore to engage with the critics, which several
companies have done by strengthening their supply chains and buying sustainable palm
oil.
Q: EU requirements to inform consumers about the presence of palm oil in food are
discriminatory. Will you change them?
The EU legislation aims at informing consumers about the food they purchase and
requires the indication of the vegetable oil/fat content on the product's label.
It applies to all oils (olive, palm, sunflower, rapeseed etc.), without distinction.
Q: Does the Commission intend to prohibit the use of palm oil in foods? This would have
no scientific basis.
No, the Commission has no such intention. It may however take appropriate regulatory
measures to limit the presence of dangerous substances in food products.
The Commission is closely following scientific studies on the presence of contaminants
(such as glycidyl esters and 3-monochloropropanediol (3-MCPD)) in all vegetable oils,
including palm oil, and will assess on this basis the need to set limits to protect human
health.
Will the Commission propose the termination of EU subsidies for biofuels produced from
food crops and for a phase-out of such fuels?
The Renewable Energy and Fuel Quality Directives do not allow biofuels to receive
financial support or be eligible for counting towards the renewable energy targets of the
Directives if they are made from raw material obtained from land that has been deforested
since January 2008.
Recognising that the demand for biofuels can drive undesirable land-use change
indirectly, the Commission recently proposed a progressive reduction of food based
biofuels and their replacement by more advanced biofuels.
Background
EP report on palm oil and deforestation
The European Parliament initiative report on palm oil and deforestation of rainforests
(Rapporteur: Kateřina Konečná, European United Left - Nordic Green Left) was adopted
with a very large majority on Tuesday 4 April 2017. The plenary debate reflected the
strong views expressed by the EP in the report and the EP critical approach to palm oil,
focusing on the detrimental aspects of palm oil production on the environment and human
rights in producer countries, in particular in Indonesia and Malaysia. MEPs insisted in
particular on the EU's responsibility to act as the second market for palm oil globally and
the need to implement the commitments made by the EU on the international front (2030
Agenda, SDGs etc.). In line with the recommendations issued in the report, the EP called
on the Commission to adopt a wide range of measures to address deforestation linked to
oil palm cultivation, in particular in relation to the need to:
establish a single certification scheme and minimum sustainability criteria,
phase out the use of palm oil in biofuels,
address the issue of palm oil and related deforestation through FTAs,
develop an EU action plan against deforestation, as well as an EU action plan on
palm oil,
provide better information on palm oil sustainable origin through the labelling of
products containing palm oil,
increase transparency in supply chains.
The ENVI Committee has been in the lead for the preparation of this report, though
DEVE, AGRI and INTA Committees were associated and provided opinions for ENVI's
consideration. A large number of amendments have been discussed in that context.
The Commission will in the coming months issue a formal reply providing its views on
the EP resolution, in particular concerning the several calls for action addressed to the
Commission in the report. This will also be the opportunity for the Commission to recall
the key elements of its policy stance and ongoing initiatives on the matters at stake.
This report is not part of a legislative initiative. Therefore, while it has political value in
expressing the orientation of the EP on the issues of deforestation/palm oil, the report will
not in itself create binding rules. This is an important message to pass to the Malaysian
authorities, whose recent public statements assume that once the report is adopted it will
have legal value.
On-going initiatives by Commission services on palm oil and deforestation
DG ENV has commissioned in 2016 a study as a follow-up to the 7th EU Environment
Action Programme and the 2013 study assessing the impact of EU consumption on
deforestation in third countries. This study will in particular consider the feasibility of
options to step up EU action to combat deforestation and forest degradation. It is expected
that results will be available by June 2017. This study should help us decide how to
further enhance EU action on deforestation and in particular whether or not a dedicated
deforestation action plan is warranted.
DG ENV has also launched in January 2017 a study on the environmental impacts of palm
oil production, and on certification schemes and legislation in place in producer countries.
The final results of this study should become available by November 2017, and will
provide a useful contribution to the on-going Commission work on palm oil.
DG ENER has recently made proposals in the framework of the Renewable Energy
Directive, in particular to gradually reduce the share of food-based biofuels after 2020,
while promoting their progressive replacement through advanced biofuels and renewable
electricity.
The EU adopted also in 2014 EU Ecolabel criteria for rinse-off cosmetics requiring palm
oil, palm kernel oil and their derivatives used in products to be sourced from plantations
that meet criteria for sustainable management that have been developed by multi-
stakeholder organisations that have a broad-based membership including NGOs, industry
and government.