{"id":50848,"date":"2021-11-17T15:23:13","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T14:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=50848"},"modified":"2021-12-01T15:25:07","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T14:25:07","slug":"eu-complicity-global-deforestation-forests-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/50848\/eu-complicity-global-deforestation-forests-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the EU finally end its complicity in global deforestation?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"EmptyMessage\">Block content is empty. Check the block&#8217;s settings or remove it.<\/div>\n<p>Once again, government officials and politicians are returning home from the climate negotiations at COP26 in Glasgow with their bags full of promises and pledges to tackle the climate crisis, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/50360\/cop26-greenpeace-condemns-green-light-decade-forest-destruction\/\">lofty pledges to stop deforestation<\/a> by 2030. <a href=\"https:\/\/unfccc.int\/news\/new-york-declaration-on-forests\">We\u2019ve been here before<\/a>, and we all know that we can\u2019t afford to waste another decade watching the wrecking of valuable ecosystems vital for Indigenous people, climate protection and countless species.<\/p>\n\n<p>That\u2019s why all eyes are on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/issues\/nature-food\/45934\/glimmer-of-hope-for-eu-anti-deforestation-law\/\">the European Commission\u2019s announcement<\/a> of their new law to cut the EU\u2019s complicity in global forest destruction and the human rights violations that go with it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: Proposed EU law to tackle forest destruction offers a glimmer of hope, but has many serious gaps that leave nature and human rights vulnerable<br><br>It&#39;s essential that the EU Parliament and national governments improve the law<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Together4Forests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Together4Forests<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gqpB6i9ZtY\">https:\/\/t.co\/gqpB6i9ZtY<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Greenpeace EU (@GreenpeaceEU) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GreenpeaceEU\/status\/1460944520510590976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 17, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<p>At the moment, people in Europe have no guarantee that what they put in the shopping basket \u2013 food, coffee, soap, paper, you name it \u2013 doesn\u2019t link them to deforestation. Similarly, there\u2019s no requirement for European banks to show that their investments aren\u2019t financing ecosystem destruction.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>Through their high consumption, the countries of the EU are responsible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwf.eu\/?2831941\/EU-consumption-responsible-for-16-of-tropical-deforestation-linked-to-international-trade\">for 17% of tropical deforestation<\/a> linked to internationally traded commodities like meat, palm oil or soy. The EU\u2019s own forests <a href=\"https:\/\/forest.eea.europa.eu\/topics\/forest-and-nature\/introduction\">are also suffering<\/a> as they are increasingly fragmented and losing biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n<p>A year ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/issues\/nature-food\/45406\/over-1-million-people-tell-eu-to-stop-funding-forest-destruction\/\">over 1.1 million people<\/a> mobilised to demand an EU law requiring companies selling products on the EU market to show that their supply chains are clean of forest or ecosystem destruction, or human rights abuses \u2013 and for banks operating in the EU to show their investments are clean too. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/issues\/nature-food\/44999\/activists-hack-eu-commission-hq-giant-image-amazon-fires\/\">Brave activists<\/a> climbed the European Commission\u2019s headquarters in Brussels to show how the EU is complicit in ecosystem destruction and demand a new EU law to stop it. The European Parliament <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/issues\/nature-food\/45182\/eu-parliament-backs-strong-law-to-protect-forests\/\">demanded<\/a> the same thing, and even the European Commission\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/issues\/nature-food\/1030\/commission-study-makes-pressing-case-for-eu-action-on-deforestation\/\">own studies<\/a> did too.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/09\/1d0a1a9e-gp1suatw-1024x683.jpg\" title=\"Activists at the EU Commission HQ, Brussels demand European leaders to act now. \u00a9 Johanna de Tessi\u00e8res \/ Greenpeace\" alt=\"Activists at the EU Commission HQ, Brussels demand European leaders to act now.\" class=\"wp-image-45004\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/09\/1d0a1a9e-gp1suatw-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/09\/1d0a1a9e-gp1suatw-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/09\/1d0a1a9e-gp1suatw-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/09\/1d0a1a9e-gp1suatw-510x340.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2020\/09\/1d0a1a9e-gp1suatw.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Greenpeace activists replace the sign at the entrance to the European Commission headquarters in Brussels with a sign reading: European Complicity in Amazon destruction \u00a9 Johanna de Tessi\u00e8res \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>It seems like EU leaders have heard us. Just the other day, the <a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/speech_21_5762\">President of the European Commission herself<\/a> said at the COP26 in front of other world leaders: <em>\u201cEuropean voters and consumers are making this increasingly clear to us: They no longer want to buy products that are responsible for deforestation or forest degradation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p>But is the European Commission delivering on its promises?<\/p>\n\n<p>Well, what they are proposing is almost a historic step, with some hesitation. Let\u2019s say it\u2019s a historic shuffle \u2013 with some serious stuff missing.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s good?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>While governments of other high-consuming countries like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/976ec2d3-d234-41f3-a90d-7ea4ae2a8567\">UK<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/proposed-us-forest-act-ignores-larger-issues\/\">US have so far only<\/a> promised to cut their contribution to <strong>illegal<\/strong> deforestation, the EU will finally go further than this, aiming to tackle all forest destruction whether it is sanctioned by the national government or not.&nbsp; A destroyed forest is a disaster for nature and the climate, whether the local authorities approve it or not.<\/p>\n\n<p>For the first time, companies selling certain products that pose a high risk to forests would have to actually know where their commodities come from, and apply environmental sustainability criteria.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/08\/f6b7393f-gp1svodu-1024x683.jpg\" title=\"Fire Monitoring in the Amazon in July, 2021. \u00a9 Christian Braga \/ Greenpeace\" alt=\"Fire Monitoring in the Amazon in July, 2021. \u00a9 Christian Braga \/ Greenpeace\" class=\"wp-image-49121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/08\/f6b7393f-gp1svodu-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/08\/f6b7393f-gp1svodu-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/08\/f6b7393f-gp1svodu-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/08\/f6b7393f-gp1svodu-510x340.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/08\/f6b7393f-gp1svodu.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Forest fire in a deforested area in an undesignated public forest in Porto Velho, Rond\u00f4nia. Forest fires rarely occur naturally in the Amazon. They are commonly used as part of the deforestation process, either as the last step in clearing the forest or to degrade and weaken large tracts of forest.<div class=\"credit icon-left\"> \u00a9 Christian Braga \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s missing?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>The proposed law only aims to protect forests, leaving other ecosystems vulnerable, such as savannas like the Brazilian Cerrado and wetlands like the Pantanal. This gives a free pass for the soy industries supplying factory farms to make major profits destroying the Cerrado.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/11\/466a0e7a-gp1svafi-1024x683.jpg\" title=\"Painting Action on a Soy Cargo Ship in France. \u00a9 Simon Lambert \/ Greenpeace\" alt=\"Picture showing Greenpeace France activists painting the words &quot;stop deforestation&quot; on the hull of a ship carrying a cargo of soybeans from Brazil's Cerrado region.\" class=\"wp-image-50850\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/11\/466a0e7a-gp1svafi-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/11\/466a0e7a-gp1svafi-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/11\/466a0e7a-gp1svafi-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/11\/466a0e7a-gp1svafi-510x340.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/11\/466a0e7a-gp1svafi.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Activists from Greenpeace France welcoming the Cabrillo, carrying a cargo of soybeans from Brazil&#8217;s Cerrado region off the Saint-Nazaire harbour. The activists are calling out the French government for its inaction about imported deforestation.<div class=\"credit icon-left\"> \u00a9 Simon Lambert \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>The law would only cover a limited number of products linked to ecosystem destruction, ignoring lots of products linked to nature destruction, like rubber, maize, pork and poultry. This is detrimental, as for example, for forests in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/press\/14184\/cameroonians-rally-to-demand-eu-stop-deforestation-for-rubber\/\"> Cameroon<\/a> and the rest of the Congo Basin, rubber plantations are responsible for the displacement of Indigenous People like the Baka and are threatening natural reserves of international importance.<\/p>\n\n<p>The European Commission\u2019s plan still leaves the <strong>rights of many Indigenous and local communities unprotected<\/strong>. Rather than demanding that companies supplying the EU market abide by international laws, they would leave it up to national leaders like Brazil\u2019s president Bolsonaro to define what \u201chuman rights protection\u201d means.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Deutsche Bank backed <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HalcyonAgri?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@HalcyonAgri<\/a> kicked Indigenous <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Baka?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Baka<\/a> People off their ancestral lands, without the slightest attempt at obtaining their consent.<br><br>We can\u2019t allow the rubber industry to continue trashing our rainforests.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HumanRights?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#HumanRights<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cameroon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Cameroon<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qSjt9y0NNs\">https:\/\/t.co\/qSjt9y0NNs<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Greenpeace International (@Greenpeace) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Greenpeace\/status\/1432647140036132865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 31, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<p>The law also completely <strong>ignores the finance sector <\/strong>and the impacts its investments have on ecosystems. Lenders based in the EU\u2019s 27 member states have made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalwitness.org\/en\/campaigns\/forests\/deforestation-dividends\/\">an estimated \u20ac401 million<\/a> in proceeds from forest destruction alone since 2016.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>There\u2019s already been fierce resistance from those who represent the interests of big corporations, unrestricted trade. The Commission\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/nov\/12\/trade-officials-taking-a-chainsaw-to-eu-forest-protection-plans\">own trade services were exposed<\/a> trying to weaken the new rules. Corporations themselves <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/issues\/nature-food\/45739\/forest-wrecking-industries-try-to-sabotage-new-eu-forest-law\/\">have used every possible argument<\/a> to convince the Commission not to act, for example saying that their dodgy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/publication\/46812\/destruction-certified\/\">certification schemes<\/a> are enough to show they are \u201csustainable\u201d.<\/p>\n\n<p>But the fight is not over, the political negotiations are just beginning, and we can still patch up these terrible holes in the proposed EU law. We must put pressure on the EU\u2019s national governments and members of the European Parliament to really protect the world\u2019s forests, other ecosystems and human rights.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>That\u2019s why we need your voice to secure a strong EU law <\/strong>to protect forests and other ecosystems \u2013 and the human rights of the people who live there.<\/p>\n\n<p>Help us grow the movement of people standing #Together4forests by sharing the video below.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The fight against the EU&#39;s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation is not over \u270a  <br><br>There are still many gaps in the proposed law.<br> <br>Share this video to join the movement and ask for a strong EU forest law \ud83d\udce2<br><br>Read more &gt;&gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N1FrDRh3Sr\">https:\/\/t.co\/N1FrDRh3Sr<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Together4Forests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Together4Forests<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1mwEdO06Pv\">pic.twitter.com\/1mwEdO06Pv<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Greenpeace International (@Greenpeace) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Greenpeace\/status\/1460954862850478080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 17, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<p><em>Sini Er\u00e4j\u00e4\u00e4 is agriculture and forests campaigner with the Greenpeace European Unit&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All eyes are on the European Commission\u2019s announcement of their new law to cut the EU\u2019s complicity in global forest destruction and the human rights violations that go with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":49061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"Will the EU finally end its complicity in global deforestation?","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"not set","p4_local_project":"not set","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[84],"p4-page-type":[59],"class_list":["post-50848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature","tag-forests","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50848"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51406,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50848\/revisions\/51406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50848"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=50848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}