UK defies EU over Indonesian palm oil trade, leaked papers show

The UK is defying EU institutions to push for a hike in nominally “sustainable” Indonesian palm oil imports which have nonetheless been linked to deforestation, leaked documents show.

The European parliament is currently trying to force a ban on EU biofuels using palm oil, which have driven deforestation and contributed to the loss of 150,000 orangutans in Indonesia since 2002.

A binding “due diligence” regulation for high-risk forest products would be the “most effective” way of curbing this forest destruction, according to a draft EU study due to be released later this month.

But a leaked British diplomatic paper seen by the Guardian calls for a planned EU-Indonesia trade deal known as CEPA to “boost” palm oil production.

It advocates an “ambitious chapter” on sustainable trade, covering “primarily the production of palm oil”, arguing that global demand for sustainable palm would allow a doubling of the current supply.

Source: theguardian