MEPs call for stricter rules on palm oil

Members of the European Parliament have adopted an own-initiative report on palm oil and the deforestation of rainforests. For the first time, MEPs have called for stricter rules on the import of palm oil.

Commenting on this, Greens/EFA shadow Benedek Jávor, said:

“The European Parliament has shown the way forward on how we can help protect the world’s rainforests from the devastation currently being caused by reckless palm oil production. The current approach is disastrous for the environment and for local people whose livelihoods are dependent on the ecosystems being destroyed.

"To prevent this, palm oil should only be imported into the EU from sustainable sources. This needs to be regulated by mandatory minimum standards for the cultivation of palm oil and a comprehensive and binding sustainability certificate for producers and traders. The Commission should now follow up with concrete steps to reduce the impact of European consumption of palm oil, including phasing out its use in biofuels by 2020 at the latest."