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According to the 2021 scorecards compiled by the WWF, soy is a major laggard that is far behind sustainability drives in the palm oil industry.The WWF which has published a scorecard on palm oil for over a decade, also published for the first time in 2021, a scorecard on soy.What does this mean in terms of corporate commitments to sourcing sustainable produced goods? Its buyer beware as the first ever scorecard on soy will allow the consumer to make a fair comparison between soy and palm oil. The full report on palm oil which can be read here was critical… Read More

The EU seems to have double or triple standards when it comes to the global fight against climate change. One for Europeans, one for the rest of the world and depending on who you are, preferential treatment for close friends like the US and Canada which are drooling at the prospect of filling EU needs for biofuels even though their crops are not subject to the same sustainability standards as palm oil. This begs the question, if what happens to forests in palm oil producing countries thousands of kilometres away from Brussels is so important to the European Union, why… Read More

. The giant honey bees (Apis dorsata fabricius)Source: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/BEES/Apis_dorsata.htm Some studies revealed that honey bees are susceptible to extinction when their natural habitats are fragmented and transformed for feedstock and agriculture. However, the parallel growth of oil palm plantations and colonies of the giant bee in a regency in Riau Province, Indonesia, delivered a piece of vivid evidence that the crop might be a perfect home for their survival. Whenever palm oil comes up, we often talk about its end products such as biofuel, cooking oil, cosmetics ingredients, to name a few. However, did you know that a lot of… Read More

When orangutan is mentioned, people tend to relate it to an endangered species that is increasingly threatened with extinction as human activities continue to encroach into forests, their natural habitat. There is the perception, amplified by the campaigns of some non-governmental organization, that palm oil poses the main threat to the survival of orangutans but an expert who has long been dealing with this great ape says that not one single organization can be held responsible for the conservation of the species. Its conservation of is a matter of collaboration between all concerned stakeholders — companies, communities, governments, and NGOs.… Read More

The EU may have inadvertently exposed an ugly side to its hostile approach to palm oil.Insiders from the EU-ASEAN Joint Working Group (JWG) have expressed frustration with the EU’s continued stalling of the talks.The JWG which was initiated to overcome the issue of market access to the EU’s biofuels program was expanded to all vegetable oils at the insistence of palm oil producing countries Indonesia and Malaysia.Is the EU uncomfortable with the ambition of the expanded JWG which implicates the use of competing vegetable oils from non-ASEAN countries? In the opinions of stakeholders in ASEAN palm oil producing countries, this… Read More

“From nature-based solutions to climate, health issues, food and water security, and sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity is the foundation upon which we can build back better.” In these pandemic stricken days when good news is hard to come by, the CPOPC is pleased to share good news on Biodiversity Day 2021. Biodiversity Day 2021 is being celebrated under the slogan: “We’re part of the solution #ForNature”. The slogan was chosen to be a continuation of the momentum generated last year under the over-arching theme, “Our solutions are in nature”, which served as a reminder that biodiversity remains the answer to several… Read More

We wrote previously on the challenges faced by the European Union to meet its commitments towards reducing emissions in their fight against climate change. EU member states like Belgium are quick to ban palm oil from biofuels even though the European Commission has issued a damning verdict on the climate and energy report submitted by the Belgian government.The challenges leave no doubt that palm-oil based biofuels will be a needed source of bioenergy for the EU especially since biomass has been called out as worse than fossil fuels by scientists.The EU’s ambitions to be climate neutral by 2050 will be… Read More

The Great Reset as expounded by the World Economic Forum wants to point out a pathway towards a planet that is sustainable for all life on earth. Its bold concepts for a sustainable planet under The Davos Agenda has the support of global corporations as well as governments which is welcome news for palm oil producing countries. For too long, tropical countries have been shunted around as mere carbon sinks for global emissions with little recognition that these forest rich countries need development as well. The European Union which is most guilty of pushing this biased view on sustainability has… Read More

European MEPs have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new law to hold corporations responsible for the integrity of their operations.The abject failure of the New York Declaration on Forests has shown that voluntary pledges and commitments do not work.Will an EU regulation on forests and human rights do better? As quoted in The Guardian, “Lara Wolters, the Dutch MEP who acted as rapporteur, said: “This new law on corporate due diligence will set the standard for responsible business conduct in Europe and beyond. We refuse to accept that deforestation or forced labour are part of the global supply chains.… Read More

If satellite mapping could see the true impacts on the ground, it would see key indicators like falling rates of infant mortality in the top palm oil producing countries. This fact is inextricably linked to improved healthcare as these countries developed, a fact that is being ignored by “rainforest defenders” who deny the rights of forest peoples to modern healthcare. Fighting myths or fighting deforestation: the downsides of oversimplification“Stigmatising and discriminating a specific commodity or origin has not shown so far to be effective for reducing deforestation. Complex situations cannot be tackled with oversimplification, false or inaccurate allegations.” COCERAL, FEDIOL… Read More