The Jakarta Post, 3 July 2018
The government is collecting international support to counter the European Union’s plan to limit the entry of biofuels into the EU market by setting additional criteria for acceptable palm oil products. The EU has agreed to extend the deadline to phase out biofuel use from 2021 to 2030. Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the government considered the new deal to be still unfair. Luhut argued that the criteria for acceptable crop-based biofuel, which will take effect in February 2019, was unjust for Indonesia. In August, Luhut said the government would hold a meeting with oil palm smallholders, the EU and the United Nations to discuss the potential acceptable criteria for palm oil by referring to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Meanwhile, in September, the governnment will meet the UN to discuss the future impacts of the EU’s phasing out of palm oil in biofuel, especially on increasing poverty, he said.