 |
increasing use of palm oil for biodiesel |
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Indonesia plan to raise the prospect of European Union (EU) curbs on the imports of palm oil with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), both countries said in a joint statement on Sunday.
A resolution by the European Parliament in April called for the EU to phase out by 2020 the use of vegetable oils in biodiesel that are produced in an unsustainable way leading to deforestation.
The resolution includes palm oil, an important commodity for Indonesia and Malaysia, which produces nearly 90% of the world’s palm oil.
[...]
“Malaysia and Indonesia will consider taking this issue to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if the Resolution becomes an EU Directive and discriminatory in nature,” said the statement, issued by Malaysia’s international trade and industry ministry.
The key-phrase in the European discriminatory phaseout of palm oil from use in Europe is 'produced in an unsustainable way leading to deforestation'.
In Europe and the USA (which has also been against palm oil in particular), self rape of their own forests was done long ago, yes, hundreds if not thousands of years ago, hence they can now talk cock on 'non-sustainability' and 'deforestation', a move principally against 3rd World or Asian nations.
This is not a new battle but one over several decades. Deforestation has been one of several preposterous discrimination by Western nations against Asian nations. If not about palm oil, they have always insisted, nay, demanded poorer nations like Malaysia, Indon, PNG, even Brazil and some African countries should preserve their forests/jungles, regardless of the economic implications, or face embargo of wood products including timber and rattan.
I am not suggesting poorer nations go berserk and chop down every tree in their land. But it's brazen arrogance when some Europeans complained about deforestation by poorer nations screwing up the world's eco-system, which they expect the same poorer nations to uphold and maintain for their (Western nations') sake.
This is not a new battle but one over several decades. Deforestation has been one of several preposterous discrimination by Western nations against Asian nations. If not about palm oil, they have always insisted, nay, demanded poorer nations like Malaysia, Indon, PNG, even Brazil and some African countries should preserve their forests/jungles, regardless of the economic implications, or face embargo of wood products including timber and rattan.
I am not suggesting poorer nations go berserk and chop down every tree in their land. But it's brazen arrogance when some Europeans complained about deforestation by poorer nations screwing up the world's eco-system, which they expect the same poorer nations to uphold and maintain for their (Western nations') sake.
The US cooking oil industries protect their soya oil products which could not compete against Malaysian-Indon palm oil. They deliberately raised questions about the nutritional value of palm oil, which the FDA disproved much to their annoyance.
Then it was about dear wild animals (Bambi, Dumbo the cute flying elephant, and cute lil' monkeys, etc) in Malaysia facing extinction from palm oil plantations, ignoring independent scientific reports that these palm oil plantations resume a new forest eco-system with all sorts of wildlife flourishing in them.
Europe talks against deforestation while in Australia, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, a close mate of Anwar Ibrahim, has been virulently against palm oil too because he has been more concerned about the survivalability of orangutan than those of orang anak Malaysia.
As with many Western nations which preach democracy, freedom of speech, free trade, etc, they would be the first to break those hifalutin' principles.
As an example, I have already written many posts on Europe's bullshit about free speech and their (and USA's) support of dictators especially in oil-producing Arab nations, Africa, South America and Iran.
Then it was about dear wild animals (Bambi, Dumbo the cute flying elephant, and cute lil' monkeys, etc) in Malaysia facing extinction from palm oil plantations, ignoring independent scientific reports that these palm oil plantations resume a new forest eco-system with all sorts of wildlife flourishing in them.
 |
f**k you |
 |
love you |
Europe talks against deforestation while in Australia, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, a close mate of Anwar Ibrahim, has been virulently against palm oil too because he has been more concerned about the survivalability of orangutan than those of orang anak Malaysia.
As with many Western nations which preach democracy, freedom of speech, free trade, etc, they would be the first to break those hifalutin' principles.
As an example, I have already written many posts on Europe's bullshit about free speech and their (and USA's) support of dictators especially in oil-producing Arab nations, Africa, South America and Iran.
I was in a Sumatra town on an unfortunate day, when the sky turn into dusk at midday. It was a frightening and shocking experience of how land is being cleared on an industrial scale in Sumatra.
ReplyDeleteIndonesian palm oil plantations use Clear Cut and Clear Burn methods which completely destroy the vegetation and any animals in the cleared area. It is also the cheapest way to clear land for a plantation.
Years of lecturing Indonesia and companies operating in Indonesia (including large Malaysia and Singapore corporations) to be more environmentally responsible have fallen on deaf ears. The only real way to bring them to heel is to impose economic sanctions.
Like any other international treaty, WTO is an agreement on current and future behaviour. Very rarely, and under strict restrictions, it applies retrospectively.
Europe may have cut much of its own forests hundreds of years ago, but it is really futile to argue using this point. The fact is they DO protect their environment today, often at significant added cost.
That is why one key WTO condition covers environmental protections. It is not permissible for a signatory country to set aside or not enact environmental protections as a means to gain economic advantage for its product.
What you have narrated is quite different from what the EU is proposing. I agree that what has been happening to Sumatra and Kalimantan should not be tolerated and where possible, punished.
DeleteWhat the EU is proposing is unrelated to the reckless unethical method of what is happening in Indonesia. By 2020 it wants to do away with palm oil as a legitimate product of SE Asia