About: palm oil

Malaysia takes WTO legal action against EU over palm biofuel curbs

Malaysia is taking legal action at the global trade watchdog against the European Union and member states France and Lithuania for restricting palm oil-based biofuels, the government said.

EU, ASEAN upgrade their relations to ‘strategic partnership’

After six years of talks, the European Union and the ASEAN group of ten Southeast Asian countries upgraded their relations from "dialogue" to "strategic partnership" at a meeting on Tuesday (1 December).

The answer to deforestation lies in space

The use of satellite technology to track and halt real-time cases of deforestation in a country like Malaysia could become a “blueprint” for ending deforestation in the Amazon, writes Daniel Mackisack.

EU’s trade deals can put an end to deforestation

The EU must take an aggressive “stick and carrot” approach to trade deals in order to put an end to deforestation and avert a next pandemic, writes Fazlun Khalid.

Malaysia vows WTO lawsuit against EU over palm oil

Malaysia will file a lawsuit at the World Trade Organisation over the European Union's plans to end the use of palm oil-based biofuels, a minister said Wednesday (2 July).

Viability of synthetic palm oil versus natural palm oil

For several decades now, and ever since the early 1980s, palm oil has been called out as a problem for a number of different reasons, write Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali and Dr Kalyana Sundram.

How the EU’s Green Deal could help trigger a historic EU-ASEAN trade deal

There has been much fanfare over the EU’s new Green Deal, a three-decade plan to make the EU climate neutral by 2050. Lauded as “revolutionary”, “visionary” and a “game-changer”, it has been applauded across the globe. Understandably so: the stated goals are nothing short of commendable, writes Teresa Kok.

Malaysia relies on sustainable palm oil to keep entry into European market

Malaysia is to send a delegation to Europe by the end of February to present its newly adopted measures to make palm oil production sustainable, in a move that aims to circumvent a potential European Union ban on palm oil by 2030.

France’s palm oil tax saga continues

French NGOs and multinational oil and gas company Total continue their arm-wrestling over the tax status of palm oil used in crop-based biofuels. EURACTIV France reports.

Indonesia hits European Union with WTO lawsuit over palm oil

Indonesia on Sunday (15 December) said it has filed a World Trade Organisation lawsuit against the European Union over plans to phase out palm oil-based biofuel for cars, the trade ministry said.

Netherlands mulls end to used cooking oil double-counting

An analysis of the “weak” points of the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), combined with the results of an ongoing criminal investigation, will determine whether it is possible to end double-counting of used cooking oil (UCO) in energy used in transport, a Dutch spokesperson told EURACTIV.com.

Industry mulls system to verify used cooking oil composition

The waste-based biofuels industry is “actively working” to develop a system to identify the composition of used cooking oil, Angel Alberdi, secretary-general of the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), told EURACTIV in an interview.

Industry source: one third of used cooking oil in Europe is fraudulent

One-third of the used cooking oil (UCO) used in Europe’s biofuels market is more than likely fraudulent, a source from the biofuel industry has told EURACTIV.com and urged Brussels to "think again" about how the entire supply chain is monitored.

Will National Energy and Climate Plans, key to transport decarbonisation, deliver?

The EU is facing another lost decade in transport decarbonisation, a difficult process that requires all available measures. The National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) are key to decarbonising transport in the next decade and delivering on the EU's climate pledges, writes Zoltán Szabó.

Biofuel expert: In Europe, facts don’t win over theories

Europe’s demonstrated preference for ideology over science explains why Europe is both the most vocal climate proponent on the world stage and also the most wasteful and ineffective one, Eric Sievers, director of investments at Ethanol Europe, told EURACTIV.com in an interview.

Malaysian minister: ‘Palm oil is a deal-breaker for EU-ASEAN trade relations’

Teresa Kok, Malaysia's Minister of Primary Industries, visited Brussels and other European capitals this week in a last-ditch effort to kill new EU rules that will ban the use of palm oil in biofuels – a measure European adopted because of concerns about deforestation.

Malaysia threatens to ditch EU fighter jet deal over palm oil curbs

Malaysia may retaliate against an EU plan to curb palm oil use by purchasing new fighter jets from China instead of European arms companies, its leader said Sunday (24 March).

EU Parliament unwilling to reject Commission’s biofuel criteria

Despite a strong negative reaction from EU farmers and industry, the European Parliament does not seem likely to oppose the Commission's delegated act on sustainability criteria for biofuels.

Biofuels: Commission blacklists palm oil, throws soybeans lifeline

In an eagerly-awaited decision, the European Commission last week categorised palm oil as a high-emitting biofuel crop but provided some controversial exemptions for smallholders and spared soybeans from the delegated act's provisions.

Biofuel sustainability criteria ‘blocked’ in EU Commission

A delegated act determining the sustainability criteria of biofuels under the new renewable energy directive (RED II) has been blocked in the European Commission as some Commissioners found the criteria “too light”, EURACTIV has learnt.

Palm oil no longer considered ‘biofuel’ in France

In a rare revolt against the government, the French National Assembly has passed a bill explicitly saying palm oil "is not a biofuel" and won't be eligible for tax breaks as of 1 January 2020. In Europe, a decision is expected in the coming weeks. EURACTIV France reports. 

Time is running out for biofuels sustainability criteria

The European Commission’s Directorate-General (DG) of Energy will only give two days to other DGs to express their opinion about its much-awaited proposal on the sustainability criteria of biofuels, which will determine the future of palm oil in Europe.