Nachhaltige Profitmaximierung. Der Palmöl-Industrielle Komplex und die Debatte um „nachhaltige Biotreibstoffe“

Abstract

Abstract

Sustainable Profits? The Palm-Oil-Industrial Complex and the Debate on „Sustainable Biofuels“.

The controversy surrounding plans for mandatory agrofuel targets in the EU has delegitimized the current climate change regime. This article analyses the Malaysian Palm-Oil-Industrial Complex as a key nodal in governance networks that relate to the agrofuel debate. It first traces the capital concentration and vertical integration processes within the palm oil industry and the political and economic interactions between the Malaysian state and private capital, which led to the emergence of the Palm-Oil-Industrial Complex. This Complex is a key player in the expansion of palm oil in Indonesia, which has accelerated due to the anticipated growth of agrofuel markets in Europe. The expansion of palm oil production, however, has created new social conflicts as well as intensified criticism against the use of palm oil as an agrofuel, as many environmentalists doubt it can be a sustainable source of fuel for climate change mitigation. This paper analyses the industry’s reaction to campaigns against palm oil by looking at the discourse of „People, Planet and Profit“ as put forward at the „International Palm Oil Sustainability Conference“ in April 2008. Faced with the potential exclusion from the European agrofuel market, certain NGOs are being assimilated into a project to certify palm oil, based on criteria developed in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). However, new campaign coalitions between Europe and Indonesia are challenging this agenda.