InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA –It is time to limit the usage of non-renewable energy for getting decreasing. One of the solutions to do is by searching for the other alternatives, such as, by advantaging palm oil.

It is one of many kinds of commodities to produce the renewable energy. For some countries, its production (crude palm oil) is as the environmental material to biofuel. But in the recent days, European Union declared the resolution about palm oil as the unsustainable vegetable oil material and high risk to deforestation. It is adopted in the Delegated Act from the Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II).

The policy stops the palm oil imports from Indonesia which was the biggest palm oil exporter to European Union. If the policy keeps running, it would impact to the decreasing exports and could break the good relations between Indonesia and European Union.

The palm oil discriminatory from Indonesia has kept happening. The soybean which is imported the most from America is not claimed as the unsustainable and high risk commodity. European Union just stops palm oil only.

European Union thought that palm oil is as the renewable material which makes the biggest forest damages. They would substitute palm oil by soybean.

The issues are the reverse with the fact. Palm oil plantations are narrower than the soybean areas. The converted forests to be palm oil plantations reach 270 thousand hectares per year. The numbers are smaller than those in soybean which reach 480 thousand hectare per year.

This is a big question, why is palm oil taken as the factor of deforestation? Why are the other commodities, such as, soybean, not taken as the deforestation factor too?

It is bad because the black campaign would negatively influence to palm oil exports from Indonesia and could decrease the exchange of the country. Indonesia really rejects the policy published by European Union. If it keeps running, it would be the loss of palm oil producer countries, including Indonesia.

If the Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II) keeps running, Indonesia would do anything to be against the policy. Indonesia even could claim the continent to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Malaysia and Columbia agree with Indonesia to do the same as the palm oil producer countries.

Knowing the threat, the Ambassador of European Union pleased Indonesia to report the case to WTO if it is needed. He thought that WTO is the institution to accomplish the international trade. If one side does not agree with the policy in the international trade, the best to do is to take it to WTO to get the solution. (Writer: Novianda Fawaz Khairunnisa/Majoring Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture, 2017, Universitas Padjadjaran)