The True Cost Of Cheap Oil
Climate Change
With their CO2 and methane emissions, palm oil-based biofuels actually have three times the climate impact of traditional fossil fuels.
Increase in Deforestation
Oil palm plantations currently cover more than 27 million hectares of the Earth’s surface. Forests and human settlements have been destroyed and replaced by “green deserts” containing virtually no biodiversity on an area the size of New Zealand.
Soil Degradation
The industry has threatened freshwater ecosystems and caused soil erosion and pollution, as well as air pollution. The burning of forests and peatlands to clear and manage land for palm oil plantations releases massive quantities of carbon dioxide, fueling climate change.
Loss of Natural Habitats
The natural habitat of the orangutan, is cleared for the benefit of plantations that can produce cheap vegetable oil for the rest of the world. Today, 92% of the world’s collective consumption of palm oil comes from two countries: Indonesia and Malaysia.
Species Extinction
Palm oil has been and continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitat of already endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino.
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Large-scale conversion of tropical forests to oil palm plantations has a devastating impact on a huge number of plant and animal species. Oil palm production also leads to an increase in human-wildlife conflict as populations of large animals are squeezed into increasingly isolated fragments of natural habitat. The habitats destroyed frequently contain rare and endangered species or serve as wildlife corridors between areas of genetic diversity. www.worldwildlife.org
