The European Parliament has reached a preliminary deal with EU governments on on an EU Regulation on deforestation-free supply chains.
- The law on deforestation-free products will make it obligatory for companies to verify and issue a 'due diligence' statement that goods placed on the EU market have not led to deforestation and forest degradation anywhere in the world after 31 December 2020.
- According to the agreed text, while no country or commodity as such will be banned, companies will not be allowed to sell their products in the EU without this type of statement.
- Companies will also have to verify compliance with relevant legislations of the country of production including on human rights and that the rights of indigenous people concerned have been respected.
- The new law would guarantee European consumers that the products they buy do not contribute to the destruction and degradation of forests, including of irreplaceable primary forests, and would hence reduce the EU’s contribution to climate change and biodiversity loss globally.
The Scope: The products covered by the new legislation are: cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm-oil, soya and wood, including products that contain, have been fed with or have been made using these commodities (such as leather, chocolate and furniture), as in the original Commission proposal.
- During the talks, MEPs added rubber, charcoal, printed paper products and a number of palm oil derivatives.
- The European Parliament also secured a wider definition of forest degradation that includes the conversion of primary forests or naturally regenerating forests into plantation forests or into other wooded land and the conversion of primary forests into planted forests.
Open-Ended: The European Commission will evaluate no later than one year after the entry into force, whether to extend the scope to other wooded land.
- No later than two years after the entry into force, the Commission shall also evaluate an extension of the scope to other ecosystems, including land with high carbon stocks and with a high biodiversity value, as well as to other commodities.
Risk-based controls: The Commission will classify countries, or part thereof, into low, standard or high risk within 18 months of this regulation entering into force and the proportion of checks on operators will be performed according to the country’s risk level: 9% for high risk, 3% for standard risk and 1% for low risk. For high risk countries, member states would also have to check 9% of total volumes.
What’s not so good: The decision-makers excluded a few important elements, both WWF EU and Greenpeace said.
- According to WWF, negotiators decided not to support the Parliament’s proposal to extend the scope immedately to other wooded land such as savannahs, even though many of these are already under immense pressure from agricultural conversion.
- These ecosystems are important carbon stores and a refuge for animals, in addition to providing livelihoods for indigenous people and local communities.
- As a compromise, the Commission will conduct an impact assessment on the feasibility of including other natural ecosystems and will review this option one year after the implementation of the law. In addition, negotiators have agreed to set the cut-off date at 31 December 2020.
- According to Greenpeace, under pressure from the European forestry sector and the Canadian government, EU governments secured a loose definition of “forest degradation” – essentially a loophole that allows continued unsustainable logging of natural forests.
- National governments also resisted a push by the European Parliament to include respect for international human rights law in the deforestation law, and the deal agreed only requires the right to free, prior and informed consent for Indigenous People to be respected if the producing country guarantees that right.
