EU Concurs to Law Blocking Imports of Goods Connected to Deforestation

The European Union concurred with a new law that would hinder companies from selling commodities to the EU market such as soy, beef, coffee, and other commodities connected to deforestation globally.

This new law would necessitate companies to provide a due diligence statement that would show that their supply chains do not contribute to forest destruction before selling products in the EU market. Failure to comply would mean huge fines.

“I hope that this innovative regulation will give impetus to the protection of forests around the globe and inspire other countries at the COP15,”  mentioned Christophe Hansen, European Parliament’s lead negotiator.

Deforestation accounts for an estimated 10% of the total greenhouse gas worldwide emission that contribute to climate change. This would be a key point of discussion at the UN COP15 conference this month.

This new law would be implemented on other items such as cocoa, wood, palm oil, furniture, chocolate, and leather.

Companies interested in entering the EU market with these products would be required to present information such as location and when these items were produced, as well as “verifiable” information that these were not grown on land deforested past 2020.

Compliance failures would mean fines of up to 4% of the company’s turnover in an EU state. Countries that would be affected by the implementation of this new law would be Brazil, Colombia, and Indonesia which all say that this would be costly and burdensome. It was also mentioned by these countries that certification would prove a challenge to monitor, with supply chains extending over several countries.

Source: Inquirer