Malaysia welcomes EU's deforestation regulation, urges extension for implementation

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has urged the European Union (EU) parliament to acknowledge national certification programmes like the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standards as an effective measure to meet the requirements of the EU's Deforestation Regulation.

The council said it welcomed the amended draft, especially in its acknowledgement of the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and smallholders but urged policymakers in the EU to allow more time for complete implementation.

The EU has published its Draft European Parliament Legislative Resolution on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (COM(2022)0071 - C9-0050/2022 -2022/0051(COD)).

The purpose of the regulation is to stem the importation of commodities including beef, cocoa, palm oil and soy, into the EU market which may have caused deforestation in producer countries.

MPOC chief executive officer Wan Aishah Wan Hamid said the Malaysian government is firmly committed to the sustainability of palm oil production based on the country's laws, governing its natural environment and the rights of all people in the industry.

"This removes the risk of companies that import Malaysian palm oil, from having to bear the liability of 'cause and harm' should infractions occur.

"Access to justice and remedies, in case of harm, is readily available through an intermediate step offiling a complaint through the MSPO's Complaints and Grievances resource," she said in a statement.

Wan Aishah further said that should the complaint be seen as having merit to warrant judiciary action, the full force of the Malaysian laws governing environmental and human rights can be brought to bear upon the case.

She also stressed that the MSPO stands ready to meet the requirements of the Deforestation Regulation.

Meanwhile, in anticipation of global demand for sustainable palm oil, the national standard for palm oil production, the MSPO, was made mandatory by 2020.

To date, 96 per cent of Malaysian palm oil production including industrial stakeholders, SMEs and smallholders are MSPO-certified.

This level of certification is more than adequate to meet the requirements of the EU's Deforestation Regulation as Malaysian exports of palm oil to the bloc are covered under the MSPO as well as third-party voluntary schemes.

-- BERNAMA