Can palm oil enter the circular economy?

Palm oil is the wonderstuff of fats. It makes our cookies crunchier, shampoo bubblier and lipstick smoother, all for a fraction of the price of other oils.  However, a recent media storm has cast a shadow on the industry. Headlines have exposed the mass deforestation at the hands of palm oil production, and all the…

TECHNOLOGY STARTUP CREATES LAB-GROWN PALM OIL

C16 Biosciences is hoping to tap into the $88 billion global palm oil industry with its sustainable, lab-grown alternative, by first concentrating on replacing the use of palm oil in the skincare and cosmetic sector. Green startup C16 Biosciences has developed a lab-grown alternative to palm oil. Palm oil an industry that is estimated to…

Norway won’t ban palm oil, but demands sustainability

Senin, 01 Juli 2019 | The Jakarta Post THE JAKARTA POST/OSLO – The Norwegian government has told Indonesia that despite pressures from its parliament to adopt stricter measures against palm oil, the country will not ban crude palm oil and its derivatives, though it has demanded that Indonesia work toward sustainable production. Indonesian Ambassador to…

European elections put palm oil at risk

Monday, 24 June 2019 | The Jakarta Post The European parliamentary elections last month resulted in a significant and challenging outcome, especially for the palm oil industry. Both the Greens (Greens European Free Alliance) and the far-right nationalists gained additional seats, while the center-right and centerleft lost their majority. The main agenda item for the…

EU wants cooperation over sustainble palm oil

Monday, 3 June 2019 | The Jakarta Post Indonesia and the European Union need to further promote cooperation over sustainable palm oil to help ease the tension between Jakarta and Brussels over the latter”s move to phase out the use of crude palm oil in biofuel by 2030, an EU representative has said. “Indonesia wants…

Malaysia calls on Southeast Asia to back palm oil against EU’s ‘unfair’ claims

Monday, 6 May 2019 | eco-business.com Stating that the EU labelling biofuel from palm oil as unsustainable is ‘unfair and discriminative’, a Malaysian minister has called Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to defend the region’s palm oil industry. The Malaysian government has called on its neighbours to help defend the palm oil industry…

Big car brands to join B30 biofuel test at end of May

Monday, 6 May 2019 | The Jakarta Post THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA Stakeholders comprising private and state institutions will kick off a maiden road test for vehicles using diesel fuel containing 30 percent palm oil-based biofuel, known as B30 biofuel, at the end of this month. The road test, which will involve carmakers such as Nissan,…

EU Palm Oil Usage Ban Threatens 16 Million Palm Oil Workers in IndonesiaEU Palm Oil Usage Ban Threatens 16 Million Palm Oil Workers in Indonesia

Tuesday, 23 April 2019 | www.en.netralnews.com The European Union policy to ban ban the use of palm oil as a raw material for biofuels is considered potentially threatening the survival of 16 million workers in the oil palm sector in Indonesia. The Executive Secretary of the Indonesian Palm Oil Workers Union (JAPBUSI) Network Nursanna Marpaung…

Palm oil being used as an ecopolitical pawn

Monday, 18 March 2019 | thestar.com.my DEFORESTATION, loss of bio-diversity, emission of greenhouse gases and global climate change have become the buzz words used by NGOs and other influential parties with self-interest to convince consumers to abandon the use of palm oil and turn instead to alternative vegetable oils such as sunflower, soybean and rapeseed, and…

EU policy counterproductive

Jumat, 12 April 2019| Jakarta Post The European Union would be well advised to review its energy policy that classifies biofuels from palm oil as unsustainable, as this could be counterproductive to the global fight against climate change and endanger Indonesia-EU relations. We support and appreciate the EU’s concerns over the risks of climate change…

Uniting ASEAN against EU

Kamis, 11 April 2019 | The Jakarta Post We call on ASEAN leaders to form a united front as a regional grouping to demonstrate full support to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who have signed and sent a joint letter toeofficiallyeprotest the European Union’s plan to remove palm oil from…

Indonesia and Malaysia unite to fight EU’s ban on palm oil

Monday, 8 April 2019 | nst.com.m KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Indonesia stand united in fighting the discriminatory delegated regulation supplementing Directive 2018/2001 of the European Union Renewable Energy Directive II. In a recent statement, Primary Industries Ministry said the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) was now in Brussels to register the two major…

Palm oil producers eye domestic market amid challenges

Monday, 18 March 2019 | thejakartapost.com Amid tough global market challenges, the country’s palm oil producers have to start expanding in the domestic market in order to boost absorption and stay afloat. Palm oil producer PT Astra Agro Lestari (AALI), part of diversified conglomerate Astra International, is no exception. Astra Agro Lestari president director Santosa said…

Trade Ministry simplifies exports of palm oil and its derivatives

Tuesday, 19 March 2019 | en.antaranews.com Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Trade Ministry simplified exports of palm oil and derivative products by revoking Trade Ministerial Regulation No. 54 of 2015 on Verification/Technical Tracking of Palm Oil, Crude Palm Oil (CPO), and Derivative Products’ Exports. “In addition to increasing effectiveness, the revocation of Trade Ministerial Decree also aims…

B20, B30 and even B100 plans deserve our support

Tuesday, 19 March 2019 | The Jakarta Post Indonesia’s rapid jump in palm oil production in the past year has caused a glut in the commodity’s global supply. Following market principles, prices tumbled under the intense market pressure, leaving millions of people whose lives depend on palm oil production, processing and distribution to suffer the…