COMMENT | Despite Malaysia’s commitment to sustainable palm oil production through certification, oil palm cultivation continues to cause deforestation, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and climate change.

These certification efforts include the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO).

This is largely due to resistance from certain industry players concerned about potential profit losses and the slow adoption of sustainable practices and technologies.

Many palm oil producers hesitate to invest in green alternatives due to high costs, uncertain returns and the complexity of switching to sustainable models.

These barriers slow progress and make it harder to adopt environmentally responsible practices across the sector.