THE world has found an unlikely hero in Greta Thunberg. The 16-year-old Swede with Asperger’s is creating waves worldwide, compelling people to stand up and be counted with her bold stance against the governments of developed countries and global organisations in her fight for the environment.

Her latest action, undertaken with 15 other youth, is suing the governments of five countries for not doing enough to tackle climate change, evoking children’s rights as their locus standi. The only reason China and the US, the two biggest carbon dioxide emitters, are not on the list is because they did not ratify the part of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that allows them to be sued by children. However, they have promised to listen to the complaints.

Malaysia, meanwhile, is largely tolerating yet another “season” of transboundary smoke, with the annual event approaching its 25th “anniversary” soon. On the one hand, we have our schoolchildren joining the chorus of demonstrators, comprising mostly kids, in more than 160 countries calling for better protection against pollution and unsustainable development, while on the other, we strongly defend palm oil as a major contributor to the economy.

While not all accusations levelled at the industry is fair, many won’t go away simply with cries of “Western propaganda”. Statements by senior members of the administration, admonishing schoolkids over material critical of palm oil or calling plantations a “kind of forest”, only feed the narrative that the industry is evil and run by clueless people.

Highly adaptable, fungible and with hundreds of commercial applications, it can be easily understood why palm oil is so hard to let go of as an economic asset. Also, it isn’t easy for large corporations to switch crops overnight, given the enormous investments already made. The entire system would need to be overhauled, affecting individual workers and smallholders to the owners of large estates.

However, Europe and the US’ concerns, both real and perceived, about oil palm plantations’ effect on the environment and their sustainability should be addressed more tactically. Malaysia, being the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil, has a key role to play here.

For example, we can use our influence to push for better terms of reference or criteria for Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards. This could be an alternative as nearly 4,000 industry players are vested in the said standards, and perhaps, a more viable option than the current push for a compromise between Malaysia and Indonesia to form a common set of standards. The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification and its Indonesian equivalent are both seen to be less stringent than the RSPO standards, but MSPO’s rules are stricter than its Indonesian counterpart’s in a few areas, including the prohibition on the use of child labour.

The agricultural authorities of the two countries, if able to achieve the proposed aim, would help with the industry’s public relations not only in this region, but also in Africa and South America. Their efforts should include the management of forest clearing and smoke. Multiple treaties have been signed to indicate regional understanding, culminating in the establishment of the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002. It has been ratified by all of the bloc’s members, the last being Indonesia in 2014.

Developed countries, too, invest in and reap the rewards of the industry – cosmetics, junk food, lubricants – with many popular brands of such goods from the very same nations that demonise palm oil. Some of these countries have direct and/or indirect shares in the plantations involved, and so, they should share the burden of resolving the associated problems.

As it is, we have enough natural disasters to deal with. The man-made smoke crisis, which has caused hundreds of events to be cancelled, numerous deaths, billions in losses, and months of respiratory and eye-related issues, should not add to the plate. – September 25, 2019.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.