Palm oil fruit

Norway is set to become the first country in the world to ban its biofuel industry from buying palm oil, a substance that is heavily linked to deforestation.

The ban will come into full effect in 2020 and was voted on by Norwegian parliament this past week. Environmentalists are hailing it as an important victory that will set an example for other countries.

The process of getting to this point has been gradual, with Norwegian politicians banning the government from purchasing palm oil biofuel last year. That vote however only implemented voluntary rules. The vote this past week, which had majority government support, was more comprehensive and covered the entire fuel market.

The new law calls for government “to formulate a comprehensive proposal for policies and taxes in the biofuels policy in order to exclude biofuels with high deforestation risk.”

Norway’s consumption of palm oil in fuels reached an all-time high last year, prompting more drastic measures.

“The Norwegian parliament’s decision sets an important example to other countries and demonstrates the need for a serious reform […]