Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi has stressed the need for the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) to .
The writer says the EU is stepping up efforts to play a bigger role in the Indo-Pacific cooperation scheme because the area has become the world’s centre of growth.
PALM oil is a key driver of Malaysia’s agriculture and agro-based sectors, generating approximately RM91.4bil in export revenue and sold in more than 180 countries between January and November 2021.
To combat climate change, EU must partner with ASEAN to tackle tropical deforestation
Shifts in attitudes towards palm oil by European nations could herald a new Europe-ASEAN partnership to tackle deforestation, writes Glenn Schatz.
Adobe stock
13 May 2021
While the EU’s decision to ban palm oil as a biofuel was a well-intentioned move to reduce deforestation, that ban ignores the progress made by some producer countries towards full sustainability. It has also had the unintended consequence of promoting the production of alternative, less eco-friendly alternatives. Fortunately, the EU has now begun to reconsider its position on palm oil.
The European Parliament’s Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union has released an analysis, ‘Trade and Biodiversity’, suggesting that it would be “more effective and less costly” if major palm oil producers were to “implement a moratorium on deforestation” instead of banning palm oil.