FACT SHEET FORESTS AND PEATLANDS AT RISK

The document examines the environmental impact of palm oil production, specifically focusing on the release of carbon dioxide from the deforestation of tropical forests and the drainage of peatlands. It highlights Indonesia and Malaysia as the primary producers and discusses the resulting loss of biodiversity and increased greenhouse gas emissions. The text suggests that global demand can be met without further ecosystem destruction by improving yields, utilizing degraded lands, and implementing stronger government policies and corporate commitments.

• Palm oil production is a major driver of global warming because it often involves the destruction of carbon-rich tropical forests and peatlands, which releases sequestered carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
• Indonesia is a significant global emitter of greenhouse gases, with deforestation accounting for approximately 30 percent of its emissions in 2009. In that year, Indonesia was the world's second-largest emitter of pollution caused by deforestation, trailing only Brazil.
• Peatlands are critical carbon sinks, with some tropical peat soils containing 18 to 28 times more carbon than the forests growing upon them. Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, holds about 75 percent of the world's tropical peat-soil carbon, an amount comparable to the carbon stored in the aboveground vegetation of the Amazon forest.
• The drainage of peatlands for oil palm cultivation leads to decomposition and increased susceptibility to fire, which can release massive amounts of carbon. For example, in 1997, fires in Indonesia released as much CO2 as the total annual emissions of the United States.
• Palm oil expansion threatens biodiversity, particularly in Southeast Asia, where it destroys habitats for critically endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutan, elephant, and tiger. Only about 15 percent of these forest species can survive within oil palm plantations.
• Existing sustainability efforts are deemed inadequate; the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) rules still permit the destruction of forests and drainage of peat soils. While Indonesia has a temporary moratorium on new concessions in primary forests and some peatlands, it only protects peatlands deeper than 10 feet.
• Global demand for palm oil could be met until 2020 without further destroying forests or peatlands if developers improve yields through tree breeding and better management and expand only onto degraded land with low carbon storage.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (n.d.). FACT SHEET FORESTS AND PEATLANDS AT RISK. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warming/palm-oil-and-global-warming.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. FACT SHEET FORESTS AND PEATLANDS AT RISK. n.d. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warming/palm-oil-and-global-warming.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=FACT SHEET FORESTS AND PEATLANDS AT RISK |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warming/palm-oil-and-global-warming.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientistsndfact, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{FACT SHEET FORESTS AND PEATLANDS AT RISK}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warming/palm-oil-and-global-warming.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }