The text, presented Wednesday, concerns beef, wood, palm oil, soy, coffee and cocoa. The European Union is the second destroyer in the world of tropical forests with its imports.
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Avoid that French, Italian or Polish citizens participate, drinking their coffee or eating a steak, destroy tropical forests at the other end of the planet – often without their knowledge. This is the goal of Legislative project What has been presented , Wednesday, November 17, the European Commission. It must make it possible to exclude from the European market beef, wood, palm oil, soy, coffee and cocoa related to deforestation, whether legal or not in the country of production, or at the country of production. Forest degradation. Some derivatives, such as leather, chocolate and furniture, are also concerned. “This is the most ambitious political initiative in the world to deal with the problem of imported deforestation, emphasized the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus sinkevicius. As Europeans, we show that we take our responsibilities. “
“To win in the global combat against climate crises and biodiversity, we must act at home and abroad, added Frans Timmermans, the Vice-President of the Commission. This Regulation meets the appeals of citizens to minimize the European contribution to deforestation and to promote sustainable consumption. “Public consultation launched in 2020 by the Commission to request an ambitious law against deforestation, to which more than 1,2 participated million people, was the second most popular in the history of the European Union (EU).
The EU Second Tropical Forest Destroyer
According to the United Nations Agency for Agriculture and Food (FAO), approximately 420 million hectares of forest – an area larger than the EU – have been defowned between 1990 and 2020. and Europeans contribute significantly to this phenomenon. In 2017, The World Nature Fund (WWF) believes that the imports of the Union have been at the origin of 16% of the world trade deforestation, which makes it the Second destroyer of tropical forests behind China (24%) and in front of India (9%) and the United States (7%). Among the engines of this infringement of ecosystems, the expansion of agriculture is by far the most important. “Imported deforestation is nestled in all the products of our daily lives, points out Pierre Cannet, the Advocate Manager of the French WWF Branch. The European market has an important responsibility and constitutes a major lever vis-à-vis the countries producers. “
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