‘France May Revisit Palm Oil Tax Proposal’

What is your opinion of the arguments put forward by ‘Green’ Senators to justify an additional tax on palm oil?

My report leaves largely aside the questions of the impact of the palm oil industry on the environment and of palm oil consumption on health. Having worked some years ago on similar issues, I am, however, very sceptical about many claims put forward by the Senators on those questions.

What is remarkable anyway in this story is that their claim – that ‘palm oil’s competitive advantage is based only on the fact that the cost of health and environmental damage it causes is outsourced and supported by the community’ – is backed by absolutely no reference to any study or research.

We (or at least the Parliamentarians who have to vote on the amendment) are asked to take the claim as an obvious truth; as something beyond any doubt. Hence, potentially, an industry – palm oil – would be destroyed or at least badly damaged without the authors of the amendment and Parliamentarians in general providing any solid justification for their decision.

As I have said, don’t ask Parliamentarians to replace the academy of sciences, otherwise you will face trouble! A serious argumentation would, for instance, tell us – or at least try to evaluate – what would replace palm oil if its production were to fall; where [the substitute] would be produced, how much land would be required, etc. But none of that has been offered.

After many months of intense debate, the proposal for the new palm oil tax was withdrawn by the French government. Do you agree with this decision?

Yes, I think it was a wise decision.

I also remember that during some of the discussions they were somewhat refining their approach by starting to distinguish between various types of culture. This was going in the right direction in the sense that it showed some awareness of the fact that it is very difficult to assess the global impact of any economic activity on the environment.

But it’s important to realise that this is not the end of the discussion. The plan to tax palm oil is still underway in Paris, and will come back in a different form. Unfortunately, the same lack of proper economic and scientific understanding may also be present.