The EU is set to pave the way for much higher rates of deforestation, all while jacking up food prices and discouraging investment in Europe
considerably behind schedule — European bureaucrats and regulators are feeling the pressure to act. Palm oil is their chosen scapegoat.
In the eyes of many, especially on the left, palm oil is conveniently placed to shoulder the blame for deforestation. Vague hand-waving statements are made about rainforest destruction abroad and echo chambers of interventionists nod in agreement that the palm oil industry ought to feel the full force of the state.Article content
But despite what they and Brussels would have you believe, even wiping out the palm oil industry tomorrow would take us no closer to stopping deforestation. Already, 90 per cent of the palm oil imported into Europe is as sustainable and that number will only grow as the industry continues to find new ways to minimize its impact on the natural world thanks to strong market incentives to go green.from the risk analysis group Chain Reaction Research, deforestation from palm oil has fallen to its lowest level since 2017, based on observation of key palm oil exporters like Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.