It is concluded that the three most significant environmental impacts associated with the production of both certified and non-certified palm oil are global warming, nature occupation and respiratory inorganics.

RSPO-certified palm oil performs better than non-certified for global warming and nature occupation witharound 35% and 20% lower impacts respectively. On the contrary, certified palm oil has a slightly higher contribution to respiratory inorganics than non-certified.

For other impact categories, certified palm oil performs better for respiratory organics and photochemical ozone impacts, while higher impacts are found for eutrophication and acidification.

No conclusions can be drawn for the following impact categories: human toxicity (carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic), ecotoxicity (aquatic and terrestrial), non-renewable energy, mineral extraction, ionizing radiationand ozone layer depletion.

Hence, for two important impact categories, global warming and nature occupation, this study demonstratesthat considerable environmental gains are achieved by RSPO-certified palm oil productionover non-certified production.

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The global demand for palm oil has grown rapidly over the past several decades. Much of the output expansion has occurred in carbon- and biodiversity-rich forest lands of Malaysia and Indonesia (M&I), contributing to record levels of terrestrial carbon emissions and biodiversity loss. This has led to a variety of voluntary and mandatory regulatory actions, as well as calls for limits on palm oil imports from M&I. This paper offers a comprehensive, global assessment of the economic and environmental consequences of alternative policies aimed at limiting deforestation from oil palm expansion in M&I. It highlights the challenges of limiting forest and biodiversity loss in the presence of market-mediated spillovers into related oilseed and agricultural commodity and factor markets, both in M&I and overseas. Indeed, limiting palm oil production or consumption is unlikely to halt deforestation in M&I in the absence of active forest conservation incentives. Policies aimed at restricting palm oil production in M&I also have broader consequences for the economy, including significant impacts on consumer prices, real wages, and welfare, that vary among different global regions. A crucial distinction is whether the initiative is undertaken domestically, in which case the M&I region could benefit, or by major palm oil importers, in which case M&I loses income. Nonetheless, all policies considered here pass the social welfare test of global carbon dioxide mitigation benefits exceeding their costs.

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Several leading environment charities say the rules aren’t strict enough and the sanctions aren’t strong enough. A recent report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature said there was “limited evidence of the conservation effectiveness.”

Senior BPK auditor Rizal Djalil did not elaborate on the discovery when talking to the media last Friday but revealed that almost all big plantation companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan were implicated in permits that were problematic with regard to the right to cultivation (HGU), overlapping concessions, concessions on protected forests or peatland and companies’ obligations to empower smallholders.

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Growers and CABs supporting the RSPO in-kind through feedback on the ‘RSPO Certifications Systems for Principles & Criteria’. A very intensive process with excellent suggestions on how to address potential gaps found and how to strengthen ambiguous text.

The eco-colonialists have turned to a scorched earth approach of junk science and faulty logic: they label palm oil as the new tobacco.

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While most express anger and demand reforms from the industrial plantation owners, many will be surprised to know that the palm oil industry is not dominated by large corporations. Small-scale rural farmers who are not linked to any companies, more widely known as ‘independent smallholders’, are responsible for about 40-50% of the global palm oil production [2]. For these independent smallholders, oil palm cultivation has provided an income, lifted millions of rural households out of poverty and reduced inequalities between urban and rural populations. Therefore, smallholder farmers are critical players and must be included in the sustainable and conflict-free palm oil narrative.

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Thoroughly enjoyed the training on Sustainable Biomass Program provided by Simon Armstrong over the last few days.