Macron makes imports pledge to combat deforestation

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said France will not import any products that cause deforestation in other parts of the world from 2030.

Macron, speaking by video to a U.N. conference in the southwest Chinese city of Kunming, called upon EU and other world powers to do the same.

The weeklong meeting marks the formal start of a new round of global talks on protecting the world's plants and animals from extinction.

A second and final session that will try to agree on targets for the next 10 years is scheduled to be held in Kunming from April 25 to May 8 next year.

The world has failed to reach most of the current 10-year goals, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets set in Japan in 2010.

Greenpeace, the environmental group, said countries need to focus on not just setting new targets but also meeting them.

Other leaders who spoke to the conference on Tuesday included Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The meeting, originally scheduled for October 2020, was postponed twice because of the pandemic.

IMAGE: AP