Author: Khalil Hegarty

The EU’s Version of Cooperation on Palm Oil The European Commission launched its Indonesian ‘Blue Book’ – a broader strategy on bilateral development cooperation – earlier this month. The launch is generally a time of EU self-congratulation. This year, however, it was overshadowed by the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The Blue Book generally makes broad […]

The European Parliamentary Elections: Implications for the Industry The European elections took place last week (23rd to 26th May), and the new makeup of the European Parliament announces change. This will have serious implications for the attitude towards palm oil going forward – both within the Parliament itself and, by association, within the European Commission. A change in […]

RSPO Smallholder Standard: Consultation Closing RSPO’s third round of consultations for its smallholder standard is about to close – on June 8. The consultation represents the end of another stage of what has been a particularly long road in the implementation of its smallholder strategy. Since its inception, RSPO had a difficult relationship with smallholders. […]

RED update The Renewable Energy Directive’s Delegated Act has now moved past its approval date of May 13th. So what is actually happening? Here’s a summary of what we’re hearing on the ground. Neither the EU Parliament nor the Member States have objected: so the Delegated Act will become a reality. It will take effect […]

Kalla takes on Europe Indonesian Vice-President has used the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing to launch a broadside at the European Union – specifically over palm oil. In a leaders’ forum hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kalla stated that the EU’s policies are hampering Indonesia’s ability to achieve the UN Sustainable Development […]

GFW Forest Data for 2018: Room for Optimism Global Forest Watch has released its tree cover loss data for 2018. Although media reports have made much of the updated data – according to some, the world’s forests are in an ‘emergency room’ – there are some optimistic signs, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. It’s important to […]

China, Russia Deal With MY on Palm Malaysia and China are renegotiating an agreement on the country’s East Coast Rail Link (ECRL). The resumed negotiation process will be indirectly tied to an agreement by China to purchase more palm oil from Malaysia. China is Malaysia’s third-largest market for palm oil after India and the European […]

Memo from Brussels Delegations from Malaysia and Indonesia visited Brussels last week in order to make their positions clearer on the ban of palm oil from the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The delegations were led by Indonesia’s Economic Coordinating Minister Darmin Nasution and Malaysian Secretary General for the Ministry of Primary Industries Dato’ […]

RED gets even hotter Just when we thought it wasn’t possible for the RED issue to gain more traction, it has done precisely that. The Indonesian actions against imports of alcohol have caused major ructions in Brussels (more details on the measures themselves below). But, sources are telling us the following. First, President Juncker is […]

Indonesia blocks imports from the EU In a dramatic escalation in the war over palm oil, Indonesia has upped the stakes and this week tightened imports of European spirits as a direct response to the Renewable Energy Directive Delegated Act. According to various sources inside and outside government in Jakarta, Brussels and London, EU countries […]