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write in relation to the article dated Sept. 28, “EU unfazed by RI’s sustainable PO drive”. The paper does neither properly reflect the views expressed during the event, nor the European Union positions.

Please allow me to try and clarify the most serious misunderstandings:

Firstly, the EU does not “phase out PO [palm oil] based biofuels by 2030”. The Union remains a large, open market for palm oil. EU member states will first freeze (2021-2023) then gradually roll back (2023-2030) the contribution of food-based bioenergy feedstocks among renewable energy sources.

Palm oil, like any other crop, will need to pass new, “objective and non-discriminatory” criteria to be considered and encouraged as a low carbon, renewable energy source. If it fails to pass these criteria, palm oil imports would still be possible under current conditions, except European member states could not count it as “renewable energy” anymore.

We work closely with the government of Indonesia at the expert level to assess whether and how ISPO or other schemes could help demonstrate compliance for all or part of Indonesian PO. The EU and Indonesia have about four years to do so until those criteria are reassessed and come into full effect.

Secondly, current and future efforts of the Indonesian government, local authorities and stakeholders can (and should!) yield “results that would compel EU to reconsider”. Like other global, responsible buyers and consumers, I fully share Indonesia’s hopes that the new ISPO and the moratorium, if properly implemented, amount to more than “mere first steps”. These commitments do have the potential to address major socio-environmental issues, and thus to change the perception of palm oil in downstream markets.

However, livelihoods, climate and biodiversity do not depend on anyone’s commitments; they depend on the results thereof.

This brings me to my last point: the critical importance of transparent, comprehensive data and exhaustive narratives. Palm oil is just one of the drivers of deforestation we should monitor and address; the national forest estate is but one of the relevant land categories: what about 7 million hectares of natural forests and 4 million ha of peatlands in non forest estate (Areal Penggunaan Lain)? The EU is committed to helping Indonesia demonstrate higher sustainability, not just of palm oil, big or small, but in every sector that can contribute to a sustainable, low-carbon rural development.

I think of forestry, obviously, where Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licensing is starting to show positive results on both environment and Indonesian export wood products. But the same could probably be said of other countries and of other commodities like soy, rubber, coffee and cocoa.

The association of Indonesian palm oil producers, GAPKI, expressed frustration that “demonstrating sustainability” is an ever-changing goalpost. They are right: global markets, responsible buyers, customers and investors, as well as the catastrophic consequences of rapid climate change and mass extinction of biodiversity on Earth over a few decades, will demand that we all crank up efforts, again and again.

The earlier we start this endeavour and the more transparent we are about it, the easier it will get to collaborate and deliver.

Vincent Guérend
European Union Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam
Jakarta