EU bans imports linked to deforestation

The European Parliament approved a landmark deforestation law on Wednesday to ban imports into the EU of coffee, beef, soya beans and other commodities if they are linked to the destruction of the world’s forests.

Companies face hefty fines on companies that sell goods into the EU if they do not produce due-diligence statements and “verifiable” information proving their goods were not grown on land deforested after 2020.

The law is aimed at eliminating deforestation from supply chains of everyday items sold in Europe such as soya beans, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee, rubber, charcoal, and derived products including leather, chocolate and furniture.

Deforestation is responsible for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, and the landmark law aims to tackle the EU’s contribution to this.

“European consumers can now rest assured that they will no longer be unwittingly complicit in deforestation,” said the European Parliament’s negotiator on the law, Christophe Hansen.

The law does not target any one country, but has faced pushback from some that it will affect.

Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s largest palm oil exporters, have accused the EU of blocking market access for their palm oil. The EU is the world’s third-largest palm oil importer.

Malaysia has said it could stop exporting palm oil to the EU in response to the law, while palm oil smallholders warn that they cannot comply with its requirement to prove where goods were produced, using geolocation data.

The European Parliament approved a deal on the rules, which was agreed by EU negotiators in 2022.

The law needs formal approval from EU countries — a process that typically waves through pre-agreed laws — before it can enter into force. Once that happens, large companies would have 18 months to comply, and smaller firms 24 months.

Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 4% of a company’s turnover in an EU member state. EU countries will carry out compliance checks to enforce the rules.

Reuters