Six associations, including Greenpeace, are contesting Thursday in court the prefectural authorization to operate the La Mède refinery, in Chateauneuf-les-Martigues (Bouches-du-Rhône) of the oil giant Total, which they blame for the importation palm oil, synonymous with deforestation according to NGOs.
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The appeal which will be studied by the administrative court of Marseille was filed in July 2018 by Greenpeace, France nature environnement (FNE), FNE Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, FNE Bouches-du-Rhône, the League for the protection of birds Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur and Friends of the Earth and aims for the authorization granted to one of the largest agrofuel refineries in Europe.
The associations stress that the impact study of the French group, on the basis of which the State authorized the project, “
did not mention either a detailed supply plan, nor the disastrous effects of palm oil on the 'environment
'.
Contribution to deforestation
The use of imported palm oil is denounced by environmental NGOs because its extensive cultivation fuels deforestation.
"
If we get the court to agree with us on the geographical scope of the impact study, which Total limits to the region of La Mède, it will already be a victory
", assured AFP Laura Monnier, lawyer at Greenpeace.
In 2015, Total launched, in conjunction with the government of the day, the conversion of its crude oil refinery at La Mède, which was in deficit, into an agrofuel refinery, preserving 450 jobs.
The group has obtained authorization to import 300,000 tonnes of palm oil for this, to the chagrin of NGOs for whom this contributes to deforestation, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia, and also angering French farmers.
According to the Total site, which did not immediately respond to AFP's requests, the La Mède refinery, in operation since July 2019, can produce up to 500,000 tonnes of biofuels per year.
The maximum volume authorized for palm oil means that this raw material represents "
less than 50%
" of the raw materials processed on the site, specifies the group, which uses other vegetable oils, as well as animal fats and used oils.
Greenpeace recognizes, however, "
positive progress
" on the subject of palm oil in France: in August, the Council of State rejected an appeal by Total which challenged a decree excluding palm oil products from the definition of biofuels benefiting from a tax advantage.
At the end of 2019, the Constitutional Council had already rejected Total, ruling that Parliament could completely remove the tax advantage for palm oil-based fuels.
Parliamentarians voted to phase out the tax incentive for palm oil products.
