Swiss researcher says palm oil bans could hit sustainable producers unfairly

In Switzerland, a researcher from ETH Zurich says the European Parliament’s proposed ban on palm oil for biofuel by 2020 and Norway’s plan to end its consumption by public bodies by the end of this year will have little impact on reducing deforestation because the policies ignore the complicated realities of palm oil production. He pointed to Colombia’s palm oil industry that he says is much more sustainable than Asian producers whose industry would be negatively hit by the bans.