EU CAPS PALM OIL FEEDSTOCK USE BUT LEAVES POTENTIAL LOOPHOLES

The European Commission has released a regulation establishing the framework for the use of palm oil feedstock in the EU for the decade to come – it classifies palm oil as a high indirect and use change (ILUC)-risk feedstock which should be capped at its 2019 level of the consumption in accordance with the renewable energy directive II. However, EU farmers/growers group COPA/COGECA says that, despite extensive consultation, the final proposal failed to close loopholes that will inevitably result in the expansion of the use of palm oil feedstock, undermining the new renewable energy directive (RED II) in the long run. COPA/COGECA claims the Commission left the door open for the use of palm oil feedstock for energy to be considered as having a low ILUC-risk impact. Despite some technical improvements to the first draft, the definition of low ILUC-risk biofuels proposed by the Commission is littered with loopholes that are a serious cause for concern among the European farming community, says COPA.