Beyond the Carbon Sink Claim: Life-Cycle Climate Integrity, Carbon Accounting, and Adaptation Trade-offs in Oil Palm Landscapes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59890/ijgsr.v4i10.1Keywords:
Oil Palm, Climate Change Mitigation, Carbon Accounting, Carbon Sinks, Peatland Emissions, Soil Organic Carbon, Climate-Smart Agriculture, Life-Cycle Assessment, Sustainable Intensification, Monitoring, Reporting and VerificationAbstract
Oil palm production occupies a contested position in climate policy: plantations accumulate substantial vegetation carbon, yet their establishment and operation can release greenhouse gases through land conversion, peat drainage, fertiliser use, and processing. This critical qualitative literature review examines why evidence of carbon uptake within an oil palm stand should not be confused with a net climate benefit across land-use histories, management cycles, and supply chains. Drawing on 55 journal articles published between 2020 and 2026, the review synthesises four interconnected themes: carbon accounting boundaries and temporal dynamics; forest and peatland legacies; adaptation-mitigation trade-offs in water, nutrients, residues, and crop resilience; and governance, circular processing, and verification. The literature indicates that carefully managed plantations on previously cleared mineral soils may exhibit favourable within-boundary carbon balances, but such results cannot retrospectively offset forest carbon losses or establish permanent additional sequestration. Conversely, peat conservation, avoided deforestation, improved residue and nitrogen management, and methane capture offer potentially important mitigation pathways, subject to contextual constraints
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