Definitions matter
February 6th, 2010 | by aobaoill |EUObserver reports on internal EU Commission documents that seek to redefine palm oil plantations – “the source of one of the most destructive forms of biofuels” – as forest that “would not per se constitute a breach” of rules on sustainability. While forests are generally seen as desirable under such rules, because they are not a net contributor to global warming, and support diverse ecosystems, the definition of ‘forest’ has been tweaked in the draft rules, following intensive lobbying, in order to cover some of the activities that such rules are meant to discourage.