In a controversial speech, Indonesia’s new president argued oil palm plantations are like forests, calling for their expansion by stating, ‘oil palms are trees … they’ve got leaves.’”

Environmental activists and experts have criticized President Prabowo Subianto’s remarks made at a national development conference held in Jakarta on Dec. 30. They say this narrative downplays the scientific evidence about the role of oil palm plantations in driving deforestation, biodiversity loss and carbon emissions.

“Saying that palm oil is a forest crop is so bad because it seems like we don’t understand the difference between forests and plantations,” said Herry Purnomo, a senior scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and a professor at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB). “Cassava and grass also absorb carbon dioxide. All crops that have green leaves absorb carbon dioxide.”

Herry told Mongabay that Prabowo’s statements came across as an attempt to defend Indonesia’s palm oil industry, the world’s biggest, from criticisms over its environmental impacts, particularly from foreign countries like members of the European Union.

Prabowo referenced those criticisms in his speech when he called for the expansion of oil palm plantations.

“And I think in the future, we also need to plant more palm oil. We don’t need to be afraid of endangering — what’s it called — deforestation, right?” he said.

“Oil palms are trees, right? They have leaves, right?” he went on. “They produce oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide. So why are we being accused [of deforestation]? Those things they said [about deforestation] don’t make any sense.”

Herry said this was an oversimplification of the issue that could fuel greater environmental degradation and land conflicts, undermining Indonesia’s global climate commitments.

“If we defend palm oil blindly without a scientific basis, other countries will blindly accuse us as well. They will perceive all palm oil [produced in Indonesia] to be coming from deforestation,” he said.