Deputy Coordinating Economics Minister for Food and Agriculture, Musdalifah Mahmud and Senior Economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Fadhil Hasan, write in The Jakarta Post about what is at stake ahead of the upcoming EU-ASEAN Joint Working Group meeting on vegetable oils.
The authors highlight the key issues for the Indonesian palm oil community: “Deforestation regulation, EU Due diligence plans, and the efforts by some, such as Belgium and France, to ban palm oil biofuels completely”.
The article recommends that “the JWG should explore, a meaningful path forward for the EU to recognise Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) across multiple agreements and under its regulatory regimes.”
Ibu Musdalifah and Fadhil Hasan conclude that a positive result for the EU and Indonesia can be achieved by providing “such a path towards recognition for ISPO, as part of the enhanced relationship that is mutually beneficial. To date, this positive step has not happened. It is our fervent hope that our European friends recognise the importance of this moment, and commit to supporting Indonesia – through ISPO – to build on our already-impressive sustainability agenda.”
Read the full article from The Jakarta Post here.