Europe: The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have mutually agreed upon new rules to tackle the global issue of Deforestation. The new rules will look for global consumers to make wiser consumption choices that do not contribute towards forest degradation. The operators trading certain products in the European Union and exporting from it will have to comply with due diligence rules.
The products concerned are- palm oil, beef, timber, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy, and their derived products such as chocolate, furniture and printed paper.
As Marian Jurečka, the Czech Minister of the Environment, stated, “ The European Union largely consumes and trades commodities that significantly contribute to the global scale of Deforestation. With the introduction of new rules, it must be ensured that whenever the customers buy these products, they don’t contribute to further degrading forest ecosystems.
All the countries have been eyeing to protect the environment, including forests and rainforests, and the European Union is readily assuming the responsibility.
The provisional agreement establishes necessary due diligence norms for all operators and traders, who manage the availability and exports of the enlisted items, i.e. palm oil, beef, timber, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy, along with other derived products such as chocolate, furniture, printed paper and selected palm oil derivatives.
As per the union, only the products that have been produced on land that hasn’t been subject to Deforestation after 31st December 2022 will be permitted in the Union market or to be exported.
The Council has also agreed to define Deforestation in accordance with Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Moreover, stringent due diligence obligations have been agreed for operators, which will be required to trace the products they are selling back to the land where it was produced.
Additionally, the establishment of Benchmarking system, which assigns to third and EU countries a level of risk related to Deforestation and forest degradation from low, standard or high. The risk category will determine the level of obligations that apply to operators and member states.
