MINYAK SAWIT DAN BIODISEL BERDEPAN DENGAN MUSUH BARU (DWIBAHASA)

Suatu ketika dulu, minyak sawit Malaysia berdepan dengan pelobi/pengeluar minyak soya USA. Kini ia berdepan pula dengan "conservationist" atau "pencinta alam" seperti Greenpeace dan lain-lain.

EU Renewable Energy Directive (peraturan arahan Kesatuan Eropah) yang menjangkakan kenaikan permintaan, menyediakan beberapa kriteria kelestarian, antaranya, pengeluaran biofuel perlu mempunyai minimum tabungan gas rumah hijau (GHG) 35 peratus pada 2010 apabila dibandingkan dengan bahan api fosil.


Definisi Kelestarian Gugat Eksport Minyak Sawit Ke Eropah

KUALA LUMPUR, 28 Nov (Bernama) -- Mula- mula sekali isu kesihatan, kemudiannya alam sekitar dan kini minyak sawit terpaksa berdepan dengan kriteria kelestarian selanjutnya untuk mengimport ke Eropah.

"Definisi kelestarian sedang diperluaskan. Kita bakal kehilangan bahagian pasaran sekiranya kita tidak melakukan apa-apa," kata Ketua Pengarah Lembaga Minyak Sawit Malaysia (MPOB) Datuk Dr Mohd Basri Wahid kepada Bernama di Brussels, baru-baru ini.

Basri merupakan sebahagian daripada anggota delegasi minyak sawit dan kayu ke Jerman dan Belgium baru-baru ini yang diketuai Menteri Perusahaan Perladangan dan Komoditi Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

Misi itu dianjurkan oleh Majlis Minyak Sawit Malaysia (MPOC) dan Majlis Perkayuan Malaysia (MTC).

Ia bertujuan, antara lainnya, untuk meningkatkan akses pasaran bagi produk minyak sawit dan kayu serta menyebarkan maklumat tentang usaha-usaha yang diambil berkaitan isu-isu kelestariannya.

Kesatuan Eropah (EU) telah menetapkan sasaran 20 peratus sumber tenaga boleh diperbaharui dalam penggunaan tenaganya menjelang 2020 dan biofuel dijangka menyumbang 10 peratus daripada tenaga boleh diperbaharui yang digunakan dalam sektor pengangkutan.

EU Renewable Energy Directive (peraturan arahan) yang menjangkakan kenaikan permintaan, menyediakan beberapa kriteria kelestarian, antaranya, pengeluaran biofuel perlu mempunyai minimum tabungan gas rumah hijau (GHG) 35 peratus pada 2010 apabila dibandingkan dengan bahan api fosil.

Menurut peraturan arahan itu kawasan yang mempunyai bekalan karbon tinggi seperti tanah gambut atau kawasan dengan biodiversiti tinggi seperti kawasan hutan utama tidak boleh digunakan untuk pengeluaran biofuel.

Basri berkata, terdapat juga kriteria "penukaran penggunaan tanah tidak langsung" atau "iLUC".

"iLUC" merupakan kesan-kesan tidak disengajakan daripada pengeluaran lebih banyak karbon disebabkan penukaran penggunaan tanah ekoran pengembangan kawasan tanaman bagi pengeluaran biofuel, fenomena di mana menghasilkan biomas di satu lokasi, manakala hutan hujan dimusnahkan di lokasi lain.

Peraturan arahan itu menuntut Suruhanjaya Eropah menyediakan satu laporan pada 2010 mengenai isu iLUC, menyemak semula kesan daripada biofuel, sama ada secara langsung atau menerusi pemindahan, di tanah yang berlaku aktiviti penukaran tanaman.

"Mereka menilai iLUC tanpa sebarang kajian yang lengkap," kata Basri.

Beliau berkata di bawah perkiraan EU, minyak sawit mempunyai tabungan pengeluaran karbon 19 peratus dan kacang soya 31 peratus, kedua-duanya di bawah had 35 peratus.

"Kita menyediakan data kita tetapi mereka tidak. Penyelidik saya pergi Brussels tetapi mereka (EU) tidak pernah mendedahkan (data mereka). Mereka mempunyai kata putus akhir," katanya.

Dilaporkan bahawa tabungan GHG bagi minyak sesawi ialah 38 peratus, minyak bunga matahari 51 peratus dan etanol tebu 71 peratus.

Basri berkata sasaran tabungan GHG EU akan dinaikkan perlahan-lahan daripada 35 kepada 60 peratus menjelang 2017, oleh itu mustahak bagi pengeluar Malaysia untuk memerangkap metana di kilang-kilang yang akan menunjukkan tabungan GHG yang lebih tinggi.

Beliau berkata kerajaan menyediakan pinjaman mudah bernilai RM1.2 bilion dan terpulang kepada industri untuk mengambilnya bagi menambah baik proses mereka.

"Jika ada sikap acuh tak acuh, jangan salahkan kami. Kerajaan telah melaksanakan bahagiannya dengan wang dan kini terpulang kepada sektor swasta," katanya.

Basri berkata Malaysia juga bekerjasama dengan Indonesia membentuk kumpulan bekerja bagi membincangkan strategi bersama berkaitan dengan peraturan arahan EU itu.

Difahamkan bahawa kriteria kelestarian itu dilihat oleh industri minyak sawit di kedua-dua negara itu sebagai halangan perdagangan, terutamanya dicipta terhadap minyak sawit.

Beliau berkata EU mempunyai pendirian yang sama mahu memastikan pengeluaran minyak sawit yang lestari dan selepas ini, mereka perlu memikirkan perkara yang lain.

"Meskipun misi minyak sawit baru-baru ini menyaksikan menteri-menteri di negara terbabit memahaminya, namun mereka masih perlu mendengar daripada organisasi bukan kerajaan," katanya.

Basri berkata sebagai contoh, seorang daripada menteri yang beliau temui yakin pengeluaran minyak sawit lestari tetapi menjadi tugas yang sukar untuk menyakinkan 26 negara lain dalam EU.

Bagaimanapun, beliau berkata ada orang yang faham dengan situasi tersebut dan berharap syarikat-syarikat Malaysia boleh menikmati insentif daripada kerajaan EU selepas mengesahkan minyak sawit lestari.

Siti Hawa Othman/ BERNAMA

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Definition Of Sustainability Dampens Palm Oil Exports To Europe

By Siti Hawa Othman

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- First it was the health issue, then the environment and now palm oil has to endure further sustainability criteria for imports to Europe.

"The definition of sustainability is being expanded. We are going to lose market share if we did not do anything," director-general of Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Datuk Dr Mohd Basri Wahid, told Bernama in Brussels recently.

Basri was a member of the recent palm oil and timber delegation to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium headed by Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

The mission was organised by Malaysian Palm Oil Council and Malaysian Timber Council.

Among others, it aims to improve market access for palm oil and timber products as well as disseminate information on efforts taken on the issue of their sustainability.

The European Union (EU) has set a target of 20 per cent renewable energy sources in its energy consumption by 2020 and that biofuel would account for 10 per cent of the renewable energy use in the transport sector.

Expecting a spike in demand, the EU Renewable Energy Directive has provided a number of sustainability criteria, among them, biofuel production must have minimum greenhouse gas (GHG) savings of 35 per cent by 2010 when compared to fossil fuel.

The directive also said areas with high carbon stock such as peatlands or areas with high biodiversity such as primary forest should not be used for biofuels production.

Basri said there was also the "indirect land use change" criteria, or "iLUC".

The "iLUC" is the unintended consequence of releasing more carbon emissions due to land use changes induced by the expansion of crop land for biofuel production, the phenomenon whereby producing biomass at one location, rainforests are destroyed at another.

The directive requires the European Commission to prepare a report by 2010 on the issue of iLUC, reviewing the impact that biofuels have, either directly or via displacement, on land use change and associated GHG emissions.

"They are going into iLUC without proper studies," said Basri, lamenting how palm oil was earlier subjected to one-sided view on its default value with regard to GHG savings.

He said under the EU calculations, palm oil has carbon emission savings of 19 per cent and soyabean 31 per cent, both below the 35 per cent threshold which showed some political manipulation.

"We provide our data but they don't. My researchers have gone to Brussels but they (the EU) never disclose (their data). They have the final say," he said.

It was reported that the GHG savings for rapeseed was 38 per cent, sunflower 51 per cent and sugar cane ethanol 71 per cent.

Basri said as the EU's GHG savings target would gradually be increased from 35 to 60 per cent by 2017, it was critical for Malaysian producers to trap the methane at the mills which would show a much higher GHG savings.

He said the government has provided a RM1.2 billion soft loan and it was up to the industry to take it up to improve their processes.

"If there is this lackadaisical attitude, don't blame us. The government has done its part with the money and now it is up to the private sector," he said.

Basri said Malaysia has also cooperated with Indonesia by forming sub-working groups to discuss common strategy with regard to the EU directive.

It was understood the sustainability criteria had been perceived by the palm oil industry in both countries as trade barriers, especially designed against palm oil.

He said the EU was singing the same tune in wanting to make sure that the production of palm oil was sustainable and after this, they would have to think of something else.

"While the recent palm oil mission saw some understanding by the ministers of the countries concerned, they still had to listen to the non-governmental organisations," he said.

Basri said for example, one of the ministers he met was convinced that palm oil production was sustainable but it would be a great task to convince all the other 26 states within the EU.

He said, however, there were people who understood the situation and hoped that Malaysian companies could enjoy incentives from EU government after certifying palm oil was sustainable.

BERNAMA