It is about improving our standard of living by protecting human health, conserving the environment, using resources efficiently and advancing long-term economic competitiveness.
The recent achievement of the APEC Summit provides positive drives toward the achievement of such an objective for Indonesia.
In the past, the Indonesian government has incorporated various initiatives to promote a greener economy, such as the launch of the tax incentive policy to encourage investors to use geothermal energy or to replace old, inefficient machinery in the textile industry.
The environmental agreement at the recent APEC Summit would provide the government with much needed sources of more environmentally-friendly technologies in the country.
Unfortunately, Indonesia’s intention to include crude palm oil (CPO) as one of the environmental goods to be covered under the APEC’s liberalization regime was met with resistance from other more developed APEC members.
CPO was not included in the list after a study from US’ Environmental Protection Agency revealed that palm oil only cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent, which is below the 20 percent minimum requirement for such a item to be included in APEC’s environmental goods list.
The fact of the matter is that the sustainability of the palm oil industry remains controversial in this country. While serving as an engine of growth, on one hand, there is also ample evidence to suggest that the development of the palm oil industry involves deforestation at an unprecedented level, on the other.
Notwithstanding such debate, it is also clear that for trade to contribute to sustainable development it must prioritize the exchange of goods that have positive impacts on environmental sustainability.
One of the most obvious ways for Indonesia to be able to keep the balance between the country’s need to attain its sustainable development objective and for the palm oil industry to sustain its continued growth is to encourage the industry to follow the standards set in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
Officially launched in 2004, the RSPO has since served as a not-for-profit association that represents stakeholders from various sectors of the palm oil industry to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil production.
Up to now, there are 18 companies in Indonesia that have been certified by RSPO as certified growers, more than any other RSPO member nation. For instance, Malaysia has 12 certified growers and Papua New Guinea has two certified growers.
