EU steps up deforestation efforts as supply chain pressure rises

At the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, the European Commission said that it is continuing efforts with partner countries to ensure a successful transition to deforestation-free supply chains.

The global fight against deforestation and forest degradation is crucial to achieve global commitments to address climate change and biodiversity loss, said the EC.

The new EU law on deforestation – effective as of 30 December 2024 – is an important “turning point” in this effort, said the EC.

The EU said its new rules on deforestation-free products guarantee that the products placed on the EU market or exported from it do not originate from deforested land or have not contributed to forest degradation. These new rules are laid down in the Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) and will apply at the end of 2024.

The EU said that the measures aim to reduce carbon emissions and biodiversity loss caused by EU consumption and production of a series of commodities, and to address deforestation and degradation resulting from agricultural expansion to produce them.

“As a major economy and consumer of commodities such as soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee and rubber, as well as some of their derived products, such as leather, chocolate, tyres, or furniture, the EU is taking action to curb the EU market’s impact on global deforestation and forest degradation,” it said.

The EU also outlined a number of other new measures and tools aimed to support partner countries and companies at the Dubai COP28 event. It said that the EU observatory on deforestation and forest degradation is now up and running. This provides maps and datasets on changes in the world’s forest cover and associated drivers.

The observatory is structured around the main components: global forest monitoring and production and trade of commodities. It builds on existing monitoring tools (such as Copernicus and other publicly or privately available sources) and will facilitate access to free information on supply chains for businesses, public entities and consumers, said the EU.

On 9 December at COP28, the European Commission and a key group of member states also announced they are stepping up their engagement with partner countries and together with the governments of Germany, the Netherlands and France launched the global Team Europe Initiative on Deforestation-free Value Chains.

“The Initiative aims to support partner countries to transition to sustainable, deforestation-free, and legal agricultural value chains. It includes new financial support of €70m,” said the EC.

The EU and its member states announced an initial package of €70m in new funding for the implementation of this Team Europe Initiative. This complements a “broad portfolio” of ongoing programmes from the EU and its member states on forests and halting deforestation, it said.

“The EU will continue to work closely with partner countries and companies to ensure a successful transition to deforestation-free supply chains. Guidance documents will be prepared on agricultural use, certification, legality and other aspects building also on the EU Timber Regulation experience (EUTR official guidance),” said the EC.

“The Commission will soon launch the Pilot testing of the Information System which will contain due diligence statements. The Commission will work closely with Member State authorities in mid-2024, to ensure that the system is fully functional before the new rules enter into application,” it added.

Meanwhile, more than two years after the passage of its Environment Act, the UK government announced on 9 December which forest-risk commodities can no longer be imported to the UK if they were produced on illegally deforested land.

NGO Global Witness explained that the law will mean that importers bringing in cattle products (beef and leather), soy, oil palm and cocoa to the UK will have to make a declaration showing the commodity was not produced on illegal deforested land.

It is set to apply to businesses with at least £50m in global turnover who “use” more than 500 tonnes of a regulated commodity in their operations, with companies who break this law also facing “unlimited variable monetary penalties”.

“Despite widespread support in a consultation by the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on the law last year, the government has not included coffee in the list of commodities – unlike the EU’s regulation,” pointed out Global Witness.

The NGO said that its analysis shows that UK coffee was responsible for forest loss equivalent to around four times the size of Glastonbury Festival between November 2021 and July 2023 alone. This puts coffee in the top five UK deforestation risk commodities by estimated impact in the study, which looked at direct commodity imports only, it said.

The announcement made at COP28 comes just days after seven UK supermarkets signed a letter calling on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to introduce the legislation. They urged him to live up to the landmark international agreement to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030 brokered by the UK at COP26 in Glasgow.

Global Witness said that it is now calling on the government to lay the regulations before parliament as soon as possible to prevent further delays because of the grace period before they enter into force, and to consider ways to expand the law to cover all deforestation (including deforestation that forest-rich countries allow).

Alexandria Reid, senior global policy advisor at Global Witness, said: “We welcome the news that the government has finally announced the sorely needed list of deforestation commodities after years of pressure from NGOs, with most key commodities covered. Yet company turnover and local legality loopholes will still leave goods tainted with deforestation on our supermarket shelves. The fact that coffee is not on the list leaves a bitter aftertaste. Ministers need to add this product as soon as possible so the UK public can rest assured their morning brews are deforestation-free.

“This leaves the UK lagging far behind the EU, which earlier this year passed its own law covering all deforestation regardless of whether it is illegal in the source country. We urge Ministers to strengthen these laws to ensure we end commodity-driven deforestation by the 2025 global deadline.”

Last month, Global Witness published data showing that UK imports of seven commodities, including all five from the new list, were responsible for 20,400 hectares of deforestation in the two-year period of delay in bringing forward the regulations – an area almost twice the size of Paris.

“The new law also does not cover the UK financial sector funding businesses responsible for illegal deforestation overseas. However, the introduction of the regulations will kickstart a nine-month review by the Treasury on how to prevent UK banks from investing in these deforesting companies,” concluded Global Witness.