Indonesia wants ‘no deforestation’ pledge dropped

JAKARTA: A new palm oil producer grouping being set up by Indonesia and Malaysia would replace “no deforestation” pledges made by major palm companies in favour of a joint set of standards proposed by the two countries, an Indonesian minister said.

Indonesia wants big palm oil companies to row back on the historic pledges made at a climate change summit last year, arguing that they are hurting smallholder producers who cannot afford to adopt sustainable forestry practices.