KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Malaysia wants to standardise the way palm oil’s impact on the environment is calculated, senior officials said today, as it seeks to counter criticism that the industry fuels climate change.
Next year the European Union, a top biofuels consumer, will impose a target to only accept biodiesel that can reduce CO2 emissions by at least 35 per cent versus fossil fuel, which risks cutting out palm oil which the EU considers to save only 19 per cent.
“We are willing to let the EU scrutinise our system,” Malaysian Palm Oil Board Chairman Sabri Ahmad told Reuters at the sidelines of a regional conference. “We should be the ones coming up with the standard, since we know palm oil best and we have nothing to lose.”
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