Indonesia Threatens to Withdraw From Paris Agreement Over Palm Oil

As the European Union proceeds with a plan to ban crude palm oil (CPO) from use in raw bio-fuel materials, the government of Indonesia is threatening to back out of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

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The European Commission has approved acts that classify CPO as a non-sustainable product, removing it from a list of raw materials for the eco-friendly transport fuel. The European Union's parliament will decide in a couple of months whether or not this classification will be enforced by 2030.

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan referenced the United States and Brazil's withdrawal from the accord saying, "if the United States and Brazil can exit from the climate deal, we will consider it as well, because it is linked with the interests of the Indonesian people."

Approximately 20 million Indonesians rely on the palm oil sector, which has alleviated some of the poverty in the country through the creation of jobs. However, palm oil plantations are attributed to causing deforestation, which threatens the habitats of several endangered species. 

Regardless, Minister Pandjaitan affirms that the national interests of the Indonesian people are the government's priority, while also claiming that Indonesian growers apply sustainable and eco-friendly cultivation procedures. 

Indonesia, along with Malaysia, is one of the worlds largest palm oil producers. The two countries account for 85 percent of global production.

The process of cultivating palm oil involves the clearing of mature forests and tropical habitats like grasslands and peatlands into palm oil plantations, which increase carbon emissions and wipe out future carbon storage, sometimes permanently.