Monday 2 November 2009

Committed To Continue Tackling Carbon Emission


Committed To Continue Tackling Carbon Emission

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- The executive board of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) will continue the way forward for sustainable palm oil by tackling carbon emission.

"RSPO members are firmly committed to tackle their greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and optimise their contribution to tackling climate change through flexible, but time-defined voluntary actions," the executive board said in a statement Monday.

The actions include adopting the non-land use change recommendations of Working Group (WG) 1 and developing a methodology for voluntary implementation by growers that is piloting ISO 14064, it said.

The establishment of a GHG WG2 to consult on produce a plan for tackling the more complex issues, including land use, determining the degree of industry leadership, and the inclusion of voluntary GHG principles and criteria, the executive board said.

"Members will commit to a value approach, which WG will propose a plan for assisting members in tackling the related issues, and taking initial action to strengthen value chain commitment at the highest levels like chief executive dialogue," it said.

The executive board said the RSPO was deliberating the contentious issue of setting GHG criteria in its principles and criteria following eight years of continuing good work for sustainable palm oil.

"The GHG story is instructive of RSPO work. Some stakeholders wanted immediate strong and clear targets. Others asked for a more measured phase," it said.

"There was no disagreement on the ultimate goal, but it was clear that if a decision was forced either way too soon, RSPO could implode," it added.

-- BERNAMA

http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/news_lite.php?id=451854