Palm Oil to Be Phased out as Biodiesel Feedstock?
by Cheryl Kalisch Gordon (Rabobank/The Land) Only a month after the European Union confirmed Australian canola would satisfy the new 2018 greenhouse gas requirements for use in EU biodiesel, a proposal to alter the EU’s overarching renewable energy policy has been announced.
The headline of this month’s proposal is for the phase-out of palm oil as a biodiesel feedstock by 2021, due to production sustainability concerns.
Malaysia and Indonesia, which account for 90 per cent of global palm oil supply and sell more than 55pc of their production to the EU (46pc of which is used in biodiesel), are enraged by the announcement with calls for WTO intervention and large community protests.
The proposed phase-out is despite the EU approved palm oil sustainability scheme (similar to Australia’s canola accreditation re-endorsed late last year). This scheme should, in theory, have satisfied the EU concerns regarding sustainability.
…
The headline proposal was however accompanied by a provision to limit biofuels made from plant crops to 2017 consumption levels and not higher than seven per cent of all transport fuels.
This reveals the principle driver behind the proposal – the more broad desire to decrease first generation biofuel feedstock use (plant-based biodiesel feedstocks such as palm oil, rape seed, soybean and sunflower), in favour of second generation sources (agricultural and municipal wastes, cultivated and waste oils, and algae).
…
The implementation of this proposal would encourage new investment and growth in second generation biodiesel feedstock and ultimately limit growth in rapeseed oil as a feedstock for biodiesel.
…
However in the longer run, an overarching trend towards second generation biodiesel, and the potential to overlook approved sustainability initiatives, means Malaysia and Indonesia’s potential loss is not a straightforward opportunity for Australia’s canola sector. READ MORE
France against palm oil discrimination (The Edge/MSN.com)
There are no comments at the moment, do you want to add one?
Write a comment