Norway has on 3 December decided to formulate a proposal to stop their own purchase of biofuels with high deforestation risk from countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
That can make Norway the first country in the world to stop its biofuel industry buying palm oil that is linked to deforestation, according to The Independent.
The decision called for the government “to formulate a comprehensive proposal for policies and taxes in the biofuels policy in order to exclude biofuels with high deforestation risk”. It is set to come into force from 2020.
The decision is made as part of the parliament’s adoption of the national budget for 2019.
It comes after a gradual process where Norwegian politicians have pushed to ban harmful palm oil from Norway.
Norway’s consumption of palm oil in fuels peaked last year as a result of action to reduce fossil fuel use in transport.
Rainforest Foundation Norway, an NGO working to protect the world’s rainforests, calls the decision a “victory in the fight for the rainforest”:
“The Norwegian parliament’s decision sets an important example to other countries and underlines the need for a serious reform of the world’s palm oil industry,” says Nils Hermann Ranum of Rainforest Foundation Norway.
