Ending U.S. Companies’ Complicity in Illegal Deforestation
Today, Mighty Earth joined with a number of civil society organizations to call on Congress and the Biden-Harris administration to “pass legislation to prevent agricultural commodities produced on illegally deforested land from entering the U.S. market and establish due diligence requirements on relevant commodity imports.” Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) has just announced plans to introduce a bill that would take these steps.
In response, Mighty Earth Campaign Director Rose Garr released the following statement:
“U.S. companies have been complicit in driving deforestation, climate change, and mass extinctions around the world by importing agricultural products that come from illegally deforested lands. Senator Schatz’s bill is a landmark piece of legislation that would require companies to understand where their products are coming from. It’s just common sense that companies should only be selling legally-produced goods to Americans. In an age of transparency and accountability, it’s simply no longer acceptable for companies to claim ignorance about the origins of their products.
“Additionally, we are encouraged by the aid and incentives included in this bill. We can and should offer a helping hand to our allies. The financial and technical help in Senator Schatz’s bill will help rebuild the sort of international partnerships we need to tackle the global climate crisis.”
