Green thumbs: Palm oil growers in Malaysia are committed to sustainable practices.
WE LIVE in a time where the price of being cheap is too high, and being “less bad” no longer cuts it.
Abating climate change is a noble mission, but it must be pursued pragmatically.
Policy makers, activists and journalists alike should avoid turning this mission into a quixotic crusade, where optics take precedence over real outcomes.
The planet doesn’t need a headline; it needs a plan that works.
In a world flooded with endless news feeds and social media posts, distinguishing data from narrative has become harder than ever.
Contrary to what some may say, the numbers reveal a stubborn truth: since the first Conference of the Parties (COP) in 1995, global oil consumption has jumped by 75%, coal by 60%, and gas by 50%.
Fossil fuels still power 82% of the global energy demand, emitting over 70% of CO2.
It’s time to face reality—keeping temperature rises to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels simply won’t happen as long as fossil fuels remain the most convenient and cost-effective way to power societies.
To meet the target, global oil demand would need to plummet from 100 million barrels a day to 54.8 million. It’s not just improbable; the maths doesn’t add up.
The EU’s Green Deal, with its ambitious goal of net zero emissions by 2050, is well-intentioned but needs a serious rethink.
Bek-Nielsen: Smallholders, who make up 27% of Malaysia’s palm producers lack the resources to comply with the EUDR.
The EU’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) mandates that companies prove products like cocoa, coffee, timber and palm oil are not sourced from deforested land post-December 2020.
In theory, it’s admirable; in practice, it disrupts supply chains and risks driving millions of smallholders into deeper poverty.
The EUDR could end up pushing smallholders back into darkness instead of helping them move forward.
Malaysia’s Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has urged the EU to pull the handbrake before this regulation crashes into a wall.
Even the Biden Administration, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and 17 nations from Asia, Africa and Latin America have called for a deferral, recognising its unworkability in its current form.
While larger Malaysian oil palm growers can jump through the regulatory hoops, smallholders – who make up 27% of Malaysia’s palm producers and 45% of Indonesia’s – often lack the resources to comply.
Similarly, 80% of the world’s 25 million coffee farmers are smallholders.
If the big players can’t trace their products back to these small farms, they will cut them off. That’s the harsh reality.
Palm producers have been criticised for deforestation, and much of that criticism is fair.
But in Malaysia, growers are committed to sustainable practices, including pledges of zero deforestation.
Over the last three years, Malaysia’s oil palm area has shrunk by 200,000 hectares, making it a “low-risk” country for deforestation.
Meanwhile, soybean expansion in Brazil has ballooned by six million hectares – more than Malaysia’s entire oil palm landbank over the past century.
Palm oil isn’t a magic bullet, but it produces 35% of the world’s edible oils while using only 0.5% of all agricultural land.
The EU would do well to remember that successful regulations should lift all boats, not just the luxury yachts.
Malaysia’s palm oil sector is a partner in promoting sustainability, supporting rational measures to curb deforestation without sacrificing the livelihoods of smallholders.
As Oscar Wilde put it, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” We need leaders who have the courage to speak hard truths rather than burying their heads in the sand.
Because when the stakes are this high, wishful thinking isn’t just naïve – it’s dangerous.
Datuk Carl Bek-Nielsen is the chairman of MPOC. The views expressed here are solely his own.
