Shocking: in less than 50 years, an area of Indonesian rainforest twice the size of Germany has been logged, burned, or degraded -- in large part in pursuit of ever more palm oil.

This is simply unacceptable. Palm oil is a threat to human rights, to our environment and our wildlife -- it can, and must, be produced sustainably.

EU council ministers and the European Parliament now have a critical chance to help set the rules in favour of sustainable palm oil -- by making sure that only certified sustainable palm oil benefits from preferential tariff treatment in the free trade deal now being negotiated with Indonesia.

Right now, Indonesian palm oil benefits from a temporary special “autonomous tariff suspension”, which means palm oil that is destroying the environment is allowed to come into the EU with reduced tariffs. And now trade commissioner Celia Malmström has a choice: she can consolidate these dirty subsidies in a permanent deal with Indonesia, or decide to change the rules in favour of the planet.

Cecilia Malmström: remove the autonomous tariff suspension for unsustainably sourced palm oil from Indonesia and pledge that any future trade deal with Indonesia promotes the use of sustainable palm oil!

This is a critical moment in history. If we can convince the EU’s trade commissioner to put sustainability atop the negotiating agenda, we could set a precedent like never before -- and create a new model for trade on all sorts of imports that puts human, environmental, and animal rights before corporate profit.

Deforestation in Southeast Asia has made Indonesia the third largest carbon emitter in the planet. The orangutan, the Sumatran tiger, and countless other endangered species are being pushed the brink of extinction -- meanwhile, the country’s remaining forests are storing as much carbon dioxide as the entire earth emits in a year.

"Land use change from forest to cash crops such as oil palm and rubber plantations... has a surface warming effect, adding to climate change," said Alexander Knohl, a prominent environmental scientist studying the region.

That’s why Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström must take bold steps to help set a global precedent against deforestation, which accounts for around 15% of total global emissions.

Cecilia Malmström: put the environment atop the EU negotiating agenda with Indonesia and require imported palm oil to be sourced sustainably!

Victory is more than possible. Working together with partners like the Rainforest Action Network and Forest Heroes, and thousands of SumOfUs members like you, we forced Kelloggs and Mars to change their ways, causing a huge shift in the global palm oil supply chain. And similar organised consumer pressure has dramatically slowed the rate of deforestation in Brazil.

If we work together, we can win this fight and help save the planet.

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