By Grace Chua

JUST as the world is looking for alternative fuels that do not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when burned, palm oil seems to have stepped up to the plate.

After all, biodiesel made from the fruit of the oil palm produces 40 per cent less greenhouse gases than petrol when burned.

But the downside to oil palm plantations is that natural forests are being cleared to make way for them, and when these forests go, so do the plant and animal species native to them.

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