Palm oil
Quote Bas Eickhout
Bas Eickhout, Greens/EFA rapporteur on the file and leading candidate of the European Green Party in the European elections comments on the European Commission´s decision to declare palm oil as a not sustainable biofuel but leaving some loopholes to be closed:
"The good news is that after years of the Greens/EFA group fighting against the incredibly damaging effects of mass palm oil production on forests, animal habitats and the environment, the European Commission finally acknowledges that palm oil is not a sustainable biofuel."
"The bad news is that the loopholes in the proposal are too big and will allow the big producers of palm oil to continue to wreak destruction. Exemptions, such as for 'unused' land which might serve other important purposes and those for small-holders, while size is no guarantee for good practices, need to be revisited in order to make this proposal strong enough to protect forests, the communities that depend on them and the animals that live there."
"The battle is not over, the proposal is under consultation for the next four weeks so we, along with civil society and the public, still have time to close these loopholes and clamp down on destructive palm oil entering the EU. Green victories never come without a fight."
