Palm oil firm that dried out its land held not liable for fires that followed

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s highest court has upheld a ruling declaring a palm oil company not responsible for fires in its concession, in a verdict that boils down to the company not being liable simply because it had put up “no burning” signs. Environmental experts say the Nov. 8 ruling by the Supreme Court in favor of palm oil company PT Kumai Sentosa (KS) deals a blow to the country’s efforts to punish environmental violators and curb greenhouse gas emissions from land use. A court in Pangkalan Bun district, Central Kalimantan province, had in February found KS not criminally responsible for the…

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