The Embassy of Malaysia in The Hague hosted the inaugural lecture of a Distinguished Speaker Series titled “The Law and Dynamics of Sustainability: The Case of Palm Oil.” This event took place at the Embassy of Malaysia in The Hague on the iconic date of September 11, 2026.
Lectures,”Global Sustainability Politics of Palm Oil” by Dr Helena Varkkey.
Lecture 2: “Sustainable Palm Oil Governance: Aligning Domestic Laws and Industry Policies with SDGs and Global Environmental Legal Frameworks” by Dr Siti Hafsyah Idris
Dr Helena Varkkey holds the Prince Claus Chair in Equity and Development (2025–2027) at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam, alongside her appointment as an Associate Professor of Political Ecology at Universiti Malaya. Her academic work concentrates on transboundary haze governance, palm oil sustainability, and global environmental politics in Southeast Asia. She earned her PhD in International and Strategic Studies from the University of Sydney and has authored several publications on regional environmental challenges, including her monograph “The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia: Palm Oil and Politics”.
Dr Siti Hafsyah Idris is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, where she also serves as Director of the Community Network Centre. Specializing in environmental law, biosafety, climate change policy, and plastic pollution governance, she routinely acts as a legal consultant for Malaysia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability and has served on Malaysian delegations for UNEP treaty negotiations. She holds a PhD in Law from UiTM, completed postdoctoral fellowships in environmental law and bioethics at Airlangga University, and publishes extensively on transnational environmental regulation and legal frameworks.
Mr Mohd Ishrin bin Mohd Ishak Charge d’affaires a.i. Embassy of Malaysia, stated the following in his welcome remarks it is a pleasure for the Embassy of Malaysia in The Hague to host this Distinguished Speaker Series, on a subject of shared importance across government, industry, and academia.
“Today, we take on one of the key intersections of environmental policy and international trade: the future of sustainable palm oil. As global demand, climate targets, and regulatory standards evolve, understanding how sector transitions operate on the ground, and how legal frameworks align with global sustainability goals, has never been more important.
For Malaysia, this conversation carries particular weight here in the Netherlands, where evolving EU regulatory standards and market expectations directly shape our trade relationship. It is platforms such as this that help bridge the gap, bringing together policy, industry, and research perspectives.
We are privileged to have two distinguished experts with us today, who will bridge high-level international policy with practical domestic execution on this issue.
The questions before us today, how sustainability, law, and trade intersect, matter well beyond any one country’s borders. It is through exchanges like today’s that shared understanding, and workable solutions, begin to take shape. I hope you will find today’s session fruitful and engaging.”
