Mighty Earth responds to EUDR delay proposal
Today the European Commission has proposed delaying the European Union’s flagship forest protection law, the EU Deforestation regulation, or EUDR – for a second year in a row.
Isabel Fernandez, Senior Consultant at Mighty Earth said:
“It’s a startling coincidence that just after the European Commission signs trade deals with the US and Indonesia, it moves to delay the EUDR once again, conveniently blaming IT problems.”
“Having proposed a world-class piece of legislation to combat deforestation, the EC has now decided it would rather do trade deals with Trump’s US and Indonesia, which is currently driving the world’s biggest deforestation project in Papua.”
“This proposed 1-year delay is totally unacceptable, and massively disadvantages the companies and countries which have gone all out to be ready for implementation in December of this year. It also ignores the will of EU citizens who don’t want to buy products tied to deforestation. This proposal – at a time when we are experiencing a climate, nature and deforestation crisis and after the record-breaking fires in Europe this summer – should be firmly rejected.”
ends
Notes to Editors
- The announcement comes out after the European Commission signed trade agreements with both the United States and Indonesia. Both trade deals with direct links with the EUDR, the first one explicitly mentions the concerns of US producers and exporters regarding the EU Deforestation Regulation, the second one with one of the biggest countries producing palm oil, one of the commodities under the scope of the Regulation.
- This Regulation is a world-beating piece of legislation and the chance for Europe to lead the world on protecting forests, and to listen to its citizens who don’t want products tied to deforestation. Promoting delays and changes to the legal framework only rewards laggards and insert legal uncertainty for smallholders, businesses and other supply chain actors, as well as economic and competitive disadvantages for those companies who took the EU decisions for granted and made their investments accordingly.
- Such technical shortcomings cannot serve as an excuse to delay the implementation of the EUDR. On the contrary, the regulation presents a significant opportunity to address these issues, as all stakeholders will be compelled to improve their practices to ensure their commodities can be marketed effectively.
- A 2024 poll showed that an overwhelming majority of Europeans (82%) believe businesses should not sell products that destroy the world’s forests and support (81%) the law to ban products that drive deforestation.
- Earlier this month, nearly 200,000 people wrote in to the European Commission to oppose environmental rollbacks and demand even stronger protections. Their messages emphasised the urgency of protecting nature for present and future generations, defending public health, preventing deforestation and water pollution, and preserving the hard-won progress already achieved by EU nature laws.
For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:
Carole Mitchell, Global Director of Communications (London)
+44 7917 105000
Syd Jones, Press Secretary (Washington D.C)
About Mighty Earth
Mighty Earth is a global advocacy organization working to defend a living planet. Our team has achieved transformative change by persuading leading industries to dramatically reduce deforestation and climate pollution throughout their global supply chains in palm oil, rubber, cocoa, and animal feed, while improving livelihoods for Indigenous and local communities across the tropics. www.mightyearth.org
