French PM Philippe calls for new vote on palm oil tax break for biofuel producers

In France, lawmakers and environmentalists were upset about a palm oil tax break for companies using it as a source of biofuel, like Total, that went through parliament without debate, prompting French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe to call for a new vote, as reported in International Business Times. The tax break was sponsored by lawmakers from the area where the Total refinery is located which was looked at unfavorably but still passed, allowing tax breaks for using palm oil as a biofuel feedstock until 2026 which greatly benefits producers like Total’s refinery in La Mede.

The second vote “will allow MPs to have a debate worthy of what’s at stake,” an official in Philippe’s office told International Business Times. “Several lawmakers were up in arms after learning the amendment for the 2020 budget had been approved late Thursday, saying they had not been sufficiently informed about the tax break. Parliament had excluded palm oil from tax breaks for biofuel sources last year, a huge blow for a new Total refinery which began operating in July.”