Dr Makhdzir: ‘Many are still not ready to meet the new GHG criteria’.. Dr Makhdzir: ‘Many
are still not ready to meet the new GHG criteria’.

27/04/2013 (The Star) - The move by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) grouping to revise its Principles and Criteria (P&C) 2013 to include the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions criterion for the production of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) is putting many domestic oil palm plantations/growers who are members of the RSPO in a dilemma.

While many growers have expressed their disappointment with the RSPO, but the passing of the newly-revised P&C by the multi-stakeholders at the RSPO extraordinary general assembly last Thursday in Kuala Lumpur has actually sealed the fate of the RSPO oil palm growers to strictly abide by the new criterion.

This will include minimising net GHG emissions from new planting development, no planting on peat land as well as the requirement for ethical business; fresh fruit bunches sourcing from legal and responsible sources, forced labour and human rights.

Loosely translated, the newly revised RSPO P&C will make it more challenging and costly for the Malaysian oil palm planters and growers to secure the coveted “voluntary” RSPO certification.

On one side, oil palm growers are saying that the new GHG criterion in the RSPO P&C will not be able to fully guarantee better sales of their CSPO given the already lacklustre offtake on the existing premium oil (without the GHG requirement) by the Western export markets.

Meanwhile, the RSPO board is maintaining its stand saying that it was a strategic move for the palm oil industry to tackle the GHG early.

RSPO president Jan Kees Vis points out that there are emerging global initiatives for competing sustainability standards in major food-based commodities.

Of interest and a bigger challenge would be the latest initiative towards zero net deforestation in palm oil, soybean, beef and timber.

“If you consider the RSPO P&C as tough, there will be more competing sustainability standards coming in with stricter requirements.

“For now the RSPO does not have the zero net deforestation requirement, but we will need to think through what will be our next position on this,” adds Vis.

Domestic oil palm growers, meanwhile, argued that the RSPO is applying the GHG criteria in its P&C so as to comply with the requirements for biofuel entry into the EU and the US markets.


Vis: ‘There will be more competing
sustainability standards coming in
with stricterrequirements’.

“It is not wise to be the champion in introducing GHG in the (palm oil) food sector and being victimised in future developments.

“Developing countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, which are the world's top producers of palm oil cannot afford to be the noble sacrificial lamb in the food sector in this GHG issue,” says a plantation player who is an associate member of the RSPO.

In fact, the latest development is that the EU has revised its mandatory target for biofuel for transportation from 10% down to 5%. “Even the EU realised the need to be more practical in the reduction of GHG emission and not to be carried away by the ideals as desired by the academician and propagated by NGOs.

“The GHG reduction is not an academic exercise but involves the practical effort to reduce GHG emission which conflicts with the need for progress in developing countries,” adds the planter.

While it is true that many countries are exploring the policy on GHG, they have left it at the exploratory stage only. For example, countries which did not rectify the Kyoto Protocol are happy to do so since they do have to fulfil the mandate but will voluntarily set up more realistic and achievable targets.

On the other hand, those signatories and committed to the GHG reduction target are trying hard to wriggle out of their mandates.

“That is why the sessions at the International Panel on Climate Change can never reach any conclusions since most of the developed countries are trying to be on the same level playing field as those who do not rectify the Kyoto Protocol such as the United States.

“Those non-signatories know that they had and will be emitting GHG to reach and maintain the present level of affluence; and such commitment on GHG will adversely affect their existing and future economic development.”

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) chief executive Datuk Dr Makhdzir Mardan says the RSPO certification is a voluntary effort towards sustainability.

Some of the Malaysian oil palm plantation companies and growers are founding members of RSPO based on the agreed P&C, which exclude the GHG criterion and “many now are still not ready to meet the new GHG criteria.”

He suggests the next course of action for domestic oil palm growers would be to strongly promote and push for the introduction of the national standard the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO).

It is believe that the MSPO is currently being drafted under the aegis of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board and slated for official launch before year-end.

Many also felt that the role of oil palm growers in the RSPO is fast diminishing because they are outnumbered by the increasing number of retailers, NGOs and processors in the grouping.

For example, Malaysian growers are represented in the GHG working group of the RSPO. Even though there are many growers in the working group but structurally, it is only one of the six sectors of the RSPO which are directly in the supply chain as well as those who are not really in the supply chain such as the NGOs.

Hence, the position of the oil palm growers as a minority group and often marginalised as reflected in the RSPO executive board and in the general assembly.

Meanwhile, analysts expect the MSPO standard can be more easily implemented nationwide compared with Indonesia's challenging environment in terms of its sprawling and highly segregated plantations on the multitude of islands in the republic.

Furthermore, many of the big plantations in Malaysia are members of the RSPO. Many of their mills are RSPO-certified, while those uncertified ones are in the process of getting certified.

“MSPO would probably not stray far from the Malaysian interpretation of the RSPO framework, which is slightly different from the generic RSPO principles and criteria.

Therefore, RSPO-certified Malaysian plantations automatically can be certified under the MSPO, and Malaysia can have at least two million tonnes of MSPO-certified palm oil ready immediately, says analysts.