Palm oil. The impact on climate and biodiversity

 “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make” /Dame Jane Goodall/

Palm oil, a “hidden” ingredient in nearly 50% of packaged products found on supermarket shelves. Palm oil is everywhere, in packaged and fast food, personal care, skin and household products. It is also used as cooking oil, animal feed and biofuel in many parts of the world.

Due to its versatile nature and resistance to oxidation, palm oil is a very efficient crop compared to other vegetable oils. It is also cheap in production with a high quantity being produced on a small area of land; making it attractive to many crop growers and smallholders.

Palm oil is native to Africa, but 85% of its global supply comes from two South-East Asian countries - Malaysia and Indonesia, where climate and soil composition are most favourable. Palm oil demand has nearly doubled between 2003 and 2013 and is projected to continue increasing.

The dominance of palm oil led to a huge volume of deforestation of some of the world’s most diverse forests. One study found that more then 50% of Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil plantations were on land that was covered by forest in 1990. This had devastating consequences for several already endangered species, such as Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino, leading to the loss of their precious habitat. 

The loss of forest with its rich soil, has a significant impact on climate too, with tonnes of greenhouse gases being released to the atmosphere. Furthermore the use of high emission fertilisers in production of palm oil, contributes to water pollution in the area, effecting many local communities and remaining wildlife. 

The issues of palm oil industry are serious, effecting not only local communities but the rest of the world. Those issues must be addressed, moving towards sustainable production and consumption of palm oil. Established in 2003, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a not-for-profit organisation that develops and implements global standard for sustainable palm oil. Globally, about 20% of palm oil production is RSPO certified. The European Union currently accounts for 70% of the sales of physically-traceable certified palm oil but there is more to be done.