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ndonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, will propose its own greenhouse gas analysis of palm oil following a recent notification from the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on qualifications for its renewable fuel program, officials and business associations say.

The EPA said in its regulatory filing last week that palm oil-based biodiesel reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent compared to petroleum diesel fuel it is designed to replace, falling short of the 20 percent threshold required to join in the renewable fuel standard (RFS) program in the world’s largest energy market.

The agency has increased its annual renewable fuel mandate by 9.4 percent to 15.2 billion gallons this year. Once the findings are finished this year, palm oil producers, including from Malaysia, cannot supply their output to US oil refiners and importers.

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said on Thursday that the ministry had discussed its upcoming move with related stakeholders and would soon send its response.

“We will send our counterarguments on Feb. 27, which is the deadline for public comments. Indonesian palm oil certainly surpasses the 20 percent (reduction) threshold set for [palm oil-based] biofuel and biodiesel,” he said.

Gita added that although Indonesian palm oil exports to the US were low, the EPA’s stance on this issue would be very important as the US move could be followed by other countries, having a far more significant impact.

Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki) executive director Fadhil Hasan shared a similar view, saying that counterarguments would be necessary as the US rule could serve as a model for other countries with large potential markets for palm oil.

“There are data and assumptions in the notification that we consider false and if we change the simulation, we can fulfill the requirement of a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,” he told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

The EPA said, as quoted by Reuters, its carbon accounting for palm oil biofuel was based partly on the “incremental expansion” of oil palm plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, which made up 90 percent of the world’s palm oil supply, that arose from producing a projected 400 million gallons of biofuels for the US by 2022. Both countries will produce nearly 2 million tons of carbon dioxide per year over 30 years as a result of clearing peat swamps and forests to expand plantations to meet US biofuel demand, it said.

Indonesia’s palm oil production is estimated to rise by 6.4 percent to 25 million metric tons, while exports are likely surge by 12.5 percent to 18 million metric tons this year, according to Gapki’s data.