EU to Phase Out Palm Oil Biodiesel, Freeze Crop-Based Fuels

The European Parliament voted on January 17 in favour of a Renewable Energy Directive (RED 11) proposal that would remove palm oil-based biodiesel from its list of renewable fuels by 2021 and froze crop-based biofuels at levels reached in 2017, a report from the ofi magazine.com has said.  The decision to remove palm oil biodiesel from the list of biofuels that counted towards the EU’s renewable fuels targets was likely to mark the end of palm methyl ester (PME) imports from Southeast Asia from 2021 onwards.  

Indonesia and Malaysia, two of the world’s largest palm oil producers, have been increasingly critical of EU’s plans to phase out palm oil biodiesel, with both countries threatening retaliation in trade and taking the matter to the World Trade Organization (WTO). With palm oil diesel now removed from the list of renewable fuels, Indonesia and Malaysia can be expected to soon make their decisions on how they will oppose the decision.  In addition to eliminating palm oil from fuels, the EU Parliament voted to limit the contributions of crop-based fuels to the level each member state had reached in 2017.