It’s make or break for European zero deforestation law
Mighty Earth calls for European Parliament to reject any delay and vote down proposed destructive amendments that would gut the EUDR and fuel deforestation
In a few days on November the 14th, the European Parliament will vote on the proposal by the EU Commission to delay the implementation of the Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (known as the EUDR), which is aimed at reducing the impact of Europe’s consumption of seven key commodities on the world’s forests.
The proposal to delay implementation already represented a major blow to the Regulation. But, in a further attack on this ground-breaking law, the European People’s Party (EPP) has put forward fifteen amendments that, if adopted, would considerably delay and effectively gut the law. Amongst these are proposals that traders should not be subject to the due diligence system under the Regulation, and that there should be a new “zero/ insignificant risk” category of product origins (countries or parts of countries). On top of this, the EPP proposals also call for a two-year delay to implementation.
Taken together, these amendments open a massive loophole that would likely lead to the laundering of high-risk commodities through ‘zero/insignificant risk’ countries. This is already happening when importers want to evade sanctions, for example with attempts to bypass the EU Timber Regulation. Indeed, the careless drafting of the proposed amendments by the EPP could even raise more damaging possibilities, depending on how they are interpreted. In short, the new text would serve only to make the system more complicated, while letting some of the world’s biggest drivers of deforestation off the hook.
Mighty Earth fundamentally rejects any and all attempts by political parties to amend a law that was agreed by the European Parliament less two years ago. This included the EPP, which Chaired the Parliamentary Environment Committee that approved (and indeed tried to further strengthen) the Regulation.
The supposed justification for the current amendments proposed by the EPP is to ensure that the EU remains competitive and does not place undue regulatory burdens on companies operating within its borders. But this is a complete red herring and is at odds with the EPP’s own political principles.
In its 2024 manifesto, the EPP states:
“We believe in European leadership in climate and environmental protection not only to safeguard our planet but also to promote economic prosperity and food security with less bureaucracy while boosting innovation and a future-oriented energy union. We want Europe to shape and lead the future by investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure, innovation and digital technologies.”
This is precisely what the EUDR has done. It has massively accelerated the development and uptake of new technologies, tools and systems that can pinpoint the origin of commodities in companies’ supply chains, help them understand risks, and enable them to undertake due diligence to mitigate those risks. This is EU policy driving cutting edge innovation and competitiveness.
Which is why the proposals by the EPP are a nonsensical mess and would deliver a double whammy. Not only would they set back the EU’s Green Deal agenda and its specific commitments to protect forests and reduce its own deforestation footprint on the world, but it would cause direct harm to the competitiveness of hundreds of companies that have already invested millions of Euros in developing novel traceability and due diligence systems, denying them a market to recoup those investments, or the legal certainty of what comes next.
But Parliament does not have the final say in the matter. If the suggested amendments are supported in plenary, the European Commission and its President Ursula von der Leyen need to have the conviction and strength of purpose to firmly push back, and simply say: “Proposal withdrawn!” That means taking the plan to delay by a year off the table and adhering to the original timeline.
The ultimate irony of the EPP proposals is that they were announced as the publication of a new poll revealed that European citizens overwhelmingly support strong action to combat deforestation. The survey, conducted in seven European countries, showed that 84% of people want swift enforcement of the EUDR. European citizens are living through the very real and tragic impacts of global heating, now. It’s high time their Parliamentarians remember who put them in office.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen should stand up for global forests and the climate and refuse to capitulate to this last-minute act of political sabotage. Her party is not the European Pulp and Paper Party, it’s the European Peoples’ Party. As the polling by Mighty Earth and partners shows, the people have spoken. Now it’s time for President von der Leyen to listen to the voting public, and to do everything in her power to ensure that the EUDR fully enters into force in 2025.
