Recipes for Success

The report analyzes how the rising demand for vegetable oils, particularly palm and soy, has led to significant tropical deforestation and carbon emissions. It argues that deforestation is not inevitable and suggests alternatives such as increasing crop yields, expanding onto degraded non-forest lands, and substituting high-risk oils with deforestation-free alternatives. The document also evaluates the role of biofuel mandates, sustainability certifications like the RSPO, and corporate commitments in mitigating environmental damage.

• Global demand for vegetable oils has grown by more than 5 percent annually for over a decade, significantly outpacing the UN's estimated global population growth of 1.1 percent through 2020.
• Tropical deforestation, driven largely by the expansion of palm and soybean oil production, accounts for approximately 15 percent of annual global carbon emissions.
• Palm oil is the most productive and cheapest vegetable oil, making it the primary source of new supply as global demand increases.
• The soy moratorium in Brazil, combined with agricultural zoning and a $1 billion partnership with Norway, helped reduce deforestation by two-thirds while soy production continued to increase.
• Expansion of palm oil into peat forests in Southeast Asia is particularly damaging to the climate; although only 10 percent of plantations established up to 2003 were on peat soils, they caused over a third of the carbon emissions from palm plantations.
• Increasing palm oil yields through better breeding and management could potentially meet near-term demand without further deforestation; a 50 percent yield improvement would produce 18 million additional tons of oil.
• There is significant potential to expand palm oil onto degraded non-forest lands in Indonesia, with estimates of available degraded land ranging from 6 million to 40 million hectares.
• Biodiesel mandates, particularly in the European Union, increase demand for vegetable oils, but the resulting indirect land use changes can eliminate most or all of the climate benefits of replacing fossil diesel.
• Current sustainability certifications for palm oil, such as the RSPO, lack standards to directly address carbon emissions, leaving secondary and shallow peat forests vulnerable to expansion.

APA

May-Tobin, C., Boucher, D., Decker, E., Hurowitz, G., Martin, J., Mulik, K., Roquemore, S., & Stark, A. (2012). Recipes for Success. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Recipes-for-Success.pdf

Chicago

May-Tobin, Calen, Doug Boucher, Eric Decker, Glenn Hurowitz, Jeremy Martin, Kranti Mulik, Sarah Roquemore, and Alexandra Stark. Recipes for Success. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2012. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Recipes-for-Success.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=May-Tobin |first1=Calen |last2=Boucher |first2=Doug |last3=Decker |first3=Eric |last4=Hurowitz |first4=Glenn |last5=Martin |first5=Jeremy |last6=Mulik |first6=Kranti |last7=Roquemore |first7=Sarah |last8=Stark |first8=Alexandra |title=Recipes for Success |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=February 2012 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Recipes-for-Success.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{maytobin2012recipes, author = {May-Tobin, Calen and Boucher, Doug and Decker, Eric and Hurowitz, Glenn and Martin, Jeremy and Mulik, Kranti and Roquemore, Sarah and Stark, Alexandra}, title = {{Recipes for Success}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2012}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Recipes-for-Success.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }