Indonesia and Malaysia have announced they are to join forces to fight the EU’s pledge to phase-out the use of palm oil in biofuels.

Last month the EU agreed to increase renewable energy use – one of the ways it plans to do this is by cutting the use of palm oil as biodiesel from 2030.

This is part of a wider initiative to ensure around a third of the EU’s energy comes from renewable sources in the next 12 years.

The two nations, which together produce 80% of the world’s palm oil supply, say they will strengthen bilateral cooperation against existing and new trade barriers.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullahsaid said: “We have agreed we must be united on this issue and I have talked to the respective minister in Malaysia as well as Indonesian Foreign Minister Ret-no Marsudi and we concurred that we must intensify our discussions.”