Europe says no to palm oil in biofuels. But only from 2030
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
European institutions have reached an agreement on banning palm oil in biofuels, but only from 2030. Too late, according to NGOs.
Europe says no to palm oil in biofuels. But only from 2030
European institutions have reached an agreement on banning palm oil in biofuels, but only from 2030. Too late, according to NGOs.
The ban on palm oil in biofuels indicated, by 2030, by European institutions is certainly good news. But one that, according to the environmental NGO community, could have been even better had Brussels shown a little more courage.
Palm oil: parliament called for a ban from 2021
The agreement – within the broader programme to increase the use of energy produced from renewable sources – came after two years of intense discussions between the Commission, the European Council and Parliament. For it to become official, approval from the latter two will be required, though no surprises are expected in this regard. And it was precisely on the question of palm oil that a genuine tug of war took place in Brussels.
EU will limit the use of palm oil as car fuel but won’t stop it bit.ly/2l8xahX
Intensive cultivation of this raw material is responsible for enormous cases of deforestation, particularly in South-East Asia. Europe has decided that, starting from next year, imports will be frozen and that palm oil must disappear from biofuels by 2030. Parliament, however, had called for it to be banned much earlier, as far back as 2021. Instead, the far more cautious positions of the Council and Commission prevailed.
The representatives of governments and Brussels' executive body were, in fact, reluctant to provoke a reaction from Indonesia and Malaysia in particular, which could theoretically have filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation against overly restrictive measures. Moreover, France showed it was certainly not ready for an immediate ban. It is no coincidence that the Paris government recently gave the green light to the launch of a biorefinery in the Bouches-du-Rhône region. A project that has enraged environmental associations precisely because the site – owned by the multinational Total – will primarily use palm oil.
The Socialist rapporteur celebrates. Greenpeace: "A timid step forward"
The new facility will in fact need to use at least 300,000 tonnes per year: it is no coincidence that the company received authorisation to import up to 450,000 tonnes of crude vegetable oils. Of which, Sylvain Angerand denounced, campaign coordinator for the association Les Amis de la Terre, Total itself "refuses to disclose the origin". Despite this context, the rapporteur of the text in the European Parliament, the Socialist José Blanco Lopez, was particularly optimistic: "We have discouraged investment in the production of biofuels based on agricultural crops and pushed for the development and use of advanced biofuels," he stated.
#huiledepalme : le Parlement européen avait demandé une sortie pour 2021, l'UE vient de décider une sortie pour 2030 ... La France, qui a tardé à se mobiliser sur ce dossier, peut et doit programmer une sortie rapide comme le réclament les citoyens !
liberation.fr/planete/2018/0…
liberation.fr/planete/2018/0…
Far less enthusiastic was the response from Greenpeace, which in a press release described it as "a timid step forward made by the European Union," since "it acknowledges that first-generation biofuels are harmful to the environment but decides to wait until 2030 to abandon them." According to MEP Karima Delli (Greens group), furthermore, "unfortunately, behind the promise of an increase in renewable energy, the threat of dirty energy sources — even more harmful than diesel — still looms."