The French National Assembly’s decision to exclude the use of palm oil as a biodiesel feedstock is an unwarranted and unjustified move that potentially could disrupt the livelihood of millions in key palm oil producer nations including Malaysia.
This is a most unwelcomed decision and goes against the very principles of free and fair trade. The vote by the Parliamentarians is alarming and deserves the strongest condemnation. Their action to ultimately exclude the usage and importation of palm oil as part of the approved renewable energy mix could consequentially affect our bilateral trade relations. Malaysia plans to protest strongly against this action and will also muster support from other key palm oil producers.
We deem the vote by the Parliamentarians who adopted amendments to its existing biofuels and fuels legislation and not recognising palm biodiesel as green fuel, as discriminatory and unfair. It is regrettable that the Parliamentarians are making an uninformed decision as sustainable palm oil is good for the environment and supports the socio-economic development of palm oil producing countries.
The French vote effectively plans to treat all palm oil produced as unsustainable. This is based on their stated pretext that all palm oil including those certified sustained and already demonstrated to have low green house gas emissions as causing destruction to the rainforests and environment. Such unsubstantiated assumptions to support their decision in reality hinders Malaysia’s efforts to adopt and achieve its sustainable goals as defined by the UN sustainability charter. In addition, they are helping to send the wrong message that even our current commitment to make the entire Malaysian palm oil supply chain sustainably certified may be a futile effort.
This is a condemnation of our commodity palm oil, which contributes significantly to our GDP and livelihood of more than 3 million people in Malaysia.
Therefore, I call upon the French Senate to make a conscionable and socially-responsible decision on the Lower House’s vote. Endorsing the French National Assembly’s vote against palm oil will have profound impact on the livelihood of millions of not only Malaysian but also Southeast Asian inhabitants and the economies of the countries.
It would also be a dismissal of a sustainably cultivated Malaysian golden crop that has valuable benefits, that demonstrates unparalleled versatility and yields various product streams that can be utilised for mankind’s benefits. I appeal to the French authorities to reconsider this anti-palm oil vote or be ready to face retaliatory actions on bilateral trade and other ongoing collaborations, from all palm oil producers including Malaysia.