EU proposes new regulations to tackle global deforestation; will ban beef, cocoa import

In a major landmark proposal to prevent the world’s greatest forests from falling, the European Union will ban several products linked to deforestation such as beef, palm oil, cocoa from entering the bloc. Just two weeks after world leaders signed a plan at UN climate change conference COP26 to reverse the deforestation, EU executive on Wednesday, 17 November proposed a draft law requiring companies to prove that the agricultural commodities for the 450 million consumers in the EU were not linked to cutting of trees. 

With an aim to make the ‘European Green Deal a reality, the EU Commission said in a statement that it has proposed “new rules to facilitate intra-EU waste shipments to promote the circular economy and tackle the export of illegal waste and waste challenges to third countries.” The Wednesday’s statement added, “With today's proposals, the Commission is presenting the tools to move to a circular economy, protect nature, and raise environmental standards in the European Union and in the world.”

Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans said in a statement, “to succeed in the global fight against the climate and biodiversity crises we must take the responsibility to act at home as well as abroad. Our deforestation regulation answers citizens' calls to minimise the European contribution to deforestation and promote sustainable consumption.”

“Our new rules to govern waste shipments will boost the circular economy and ensure that waste exports do not harm the environment or human health elsewhere. And our soil strategy will allow soil to get healthy, be used sustainably and receive the legal protection it needs,” he added.

New EU rules would ensure deforestation-free products

The European Commission said that the new regulations “would guarantee that the products that EU citizens buy, use and consume on the EU market do not contribute to global deforestation and forest degradation. The main driver of these processes is agricultural expansion linked to the commodities soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa and coffee, and some of their derived products.”

Earlier on 3 November, world leaders pledged to protect forests, and slash methane emissions in order to combat global warming. The resolution came at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, where more than 130 world leaders vowed over $19 billion in private and public funds for the cause. In the aftermath, host British PM Boris Johnson hailed it as the first big achievement of the COP26, but experts noted that such promises have been made and broken before.  

(IMAGE: Unsplash/Representative)