The RSPO welcomes the decision by the European Parliament’s Committee for the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety to adopt the own-initiative report titled ‘Palm Oil and Deforestation of Rainforests’, led by MEP Kateřina Konečná.

Global demand for palm oil is predicted to significantly increase over the next 35 years, and the RSPO shares the Committee’s sense of urgency in ensuring that palm oil is produced sustainably, according to strict environmental and social sustainability criteria.

Danielle Morley, European Director of Outreach and Engagement at the RSPO, said: “RSPO welcomes the Environment Committee’s resolution and the commitment to sustainability that it reflects.  This is indeed a global challenge, which requires a collective response. We need to step up the dialogue between stakeholders in markets and producing countries, to ensure that the measures proposed by the EU will make a real impact. Raising the bar towards higher certification standards is important, but so is ensuring that companies deliver on their commitments to sustainable palm oil and make full use of the existing RSPO or RSPO NEXT certification scheme”

Globally, market uptake lags behind production of certified sustainable palm oil by around 50%.  

RSPO will continue to promote the transition from conventional to sustainable palm oil in Europe with governments, companies and consumers and welcomes the Committee’s call for an EU-wide commitment to source 100% certified sustainable palm oil by 2020 and for all EU member states to sign the “Amsterdam Declaration”.

RSPO and the Brussels think-tank Friends of Europe will host an event on “Deforestation – A Sustainable Dilemma” to raise awareness of the issues on the occasion of the International Day of Forests, 21 March, in Brussels ( Link to the programme: http://www.friendsofeurope.org/event/deforestation-sustainable-dilemma/)