KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 18): The vote by the European Union (EU) Parliament to exclude palm oil from the Renewable Energy Directive does not constitute a ban on palm oil-based biodiesel and is just “one step in a complex legislative procedure”, said the EU ambassador to Malaysia

The vote would “by no means limit the amount of biofuels from palm oil that can be produced, imported and consumed in the EU,”  Maria Castillo Fernandez, EU ambassador to Malaysia said in a statement today.

Instead, it only sets out the position of the EU Parliament in coming negotiations with the European Commission and supported by the Council of Ministers.

“Work will continue now towards eliminating discrimination amongst biofuels as the text can still undergo significant changes,” Fernandez said, adding that the relevant Malaysian authorities would continue to be engaged with throughout this process.

The EU continues to remain open to Malaysian palm oil, which is the second largest importer of the commodity after India, she added.

According to the statement, the exclusion by the EU Parliament of conventional biofuels, such as palm oil, reflects the growing evidence that they do not contribute towards achieving greenhouse gas emission savings due to the issue of indirect land use change.

Instead, the cultivation of crops for biofuels can lead to the extension of agricultural land into sensitive areas such as forests, wetlands and peatland, which cause massive greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate the direct emission savings of the biofuels.

While the EU indicated its appreciation of the importance of the palm oil sector to Malaysian growth and employment, including for smallholders, it reaffirmed its interest in addressing environmental and social impacts of palm oil production by ensuring that “it happens in a sustainable manner.”