Palm is destroying our planet and it’s everywhere.
Here are three things you probably don’t know about palm oil:
51% of European palm oil imports are used to fill our cars’ tanks.
Palm oil biodiesel is THREE TIMES worse for our planet than regular diesel.
We only have two months to act and get palm oil out of cars.
Today’s poll also shows that four out of five Europeans have no idea they are burning up a product linked to orangutan extinction in their tanks, while Indonesia’s rainforests (literally) go up in flames to clear land for more.
In February, the European Commission could outlaw palm oil in biodiesel, but we’re up against the very powerful palm oil lobby. Only our people power will get the EU to act.
Every year millions of acres of rainforest and orangutan habitat are destroyed — replaced by huge palm oil plantations to feed Europe’s cars. Deprived of their natural habitat, orangutans starve. When they feed off palm fruits on plantations, they’re shot.
If we continue, soon orangutans, among the smartest, sweetest and closest relatives of ours, will be extinct.
Europeans don’t want this. A huge majority of those surveyed in today’s poll said “no” to palm oil in their tank. The only people who want this are the corporations and governments that have made billions from palm oil and the destruction it’s caused, and they’re lobbying as hard as they can to keep the status quo.
That’s why we’ve partnered with a Europe-wide environmental coalition to make sure our voices can get heard by the EU. We can’t match their money, but we can show them they’re outnumbered.
Last May, close to 100,000 of us pushed the EU Parliament to adopt a breakthrough law to stop subsidising ‘high risk’ food crops — such as palm oil — in biodiesel.
But the EU Commission (which needs to approve the law) still hasn’t clarified that palm oil should indeed be phased out of biofuels. And if it doesn’t do that by February, the subsidies will keep flowing, the rainforest will fade away, and European drivers will be forced to continue burning up billions of litres of palm oil.
We have just two months to stand down these powerful biofuel and palm oil lobbyists. Please sign the petition to tell the EU that you don’t want rainforests to be destroyed for fake ‘green’ fuels.
The good news is, SumOfUs members are making strides in cleaning up the dirty palm oil industry. This month, 240,000 of us helped win breakthrough sanctions against Pepsi’s palm oil business partner Indofood — finally holding it to account for labour abuse on palm oil plantations.
And last month, our people-powered pressure got Nestlé, another Indofood partner, to finally end its 13-year old Joint Venture Partnership with the palm oil villain.
Getting the EU to take palm oil out of our tanks could be our biggest palm oil victory yet.
If we want to save the orangutans and protect our remaining rainforests, we have to act now. Will you join the rest of Europe in saying no to palm oil in your tank?
SumOfUs is a community of people from around the world committed to curbing the growing power of corporations. We want to buy from, work for and invest in companies that respect the environment, treat their workers well and respect democracy. And we’re not afraid to stand up to them when they don’t.