Designing Land Use for Climate Mitigation: When and How Oil Palm Plantations Can Contribute to Carbon Emission Reduction

Abstract

Oil palm has become emblematic of tropical land-use change, often associated with deforestation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At the same time, emerging biophysical and policy research indicates that oil palm is a highly productive perennial crop with a substantial capacity to sequester and store carbon under appropriate land-use configurations and management regimes. This article develops a qualitative narrative literature review to synthesize recent evidence (primarily from 2020 to 2026) on the conditions under which oil palm plantations can contribute to net carbon emissions reduction within broader land-use planning frameworks. The review integrates biophysical studies on net primary production and carbon stocks with life-cycle assessment and analyses of land-use change, spatial planning, and climate policy, with a specific focus on Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer. The findings indicate that oil palm’s mitigation contribution is conditional on (i) the initial land cover and land-use history, (ii) site biophysical characteristics (mineral versus peat soils), (iii) adoption of low-emission management and processing technologies, and (iv) alignment with low-carbon spatial planning and agrarian governance. When oil palm replaces degraded lands rather than natural forests or peatlands and is managed with best practices, the net greenhouse gas balance moves towards a carbon sink rather than a source. The article concludes with policy recommendations for land-use planning, regulation, and monitoring to enable oil palm development to support national climate targets while sustaining its economic and rural development roles.