Which products that contribute to deforestation will the EU ban from importation
Enjoy your chocolate or coffee in Europe, confident that you have not contributed to the destruction of the forest in another corner of the planet: a text of the European Union, which is expected to be finalized tonight, aims to ban imports of the main products resulting from deforestation.
At the heart of the negotiations between the European Parliament and the Member States there are still critical issues to be resolved.
Which products does it concern?
Accounting for 16% of global deforestation due to its imports, the EU ranks second on the list of the biggest destroyers of tropical forests, behind China, according to the non-governmental organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF ).
To reduce this impact, the European Commission proposed to ban imports into the EU of six products (soya, beef, palm oil, timber, cocoa and coffeeas well as related products, such as leather goods and furniture) if they are produced in areas deforested after December 2020.
States agreed to this list, but MEPs called for rubber – the cultivation of which threatens forests in West Africa – to be added, corn, pork and sheep meat, poultry, charcoal and paper from December 2019 , a year earlier.
On Wednesday, France said it agreed with the proposal to include rubber — but not corn.
Expansion into savannahs
MEPs called for the scope to be extended to other threatened vegetated ecosystems, notably the Sejandu/Cerrado savanna (Brazil/Paraguay/Bolivia), source in 2018 of around a quarter of European soybean imports.
While the states opposed the inclusion of “other areas with vegetation” in the text, Paris finally came forward, citing the consequences on landscapes with sparse cover but also the “indications of openness” to the idea in other countries (Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Germany). .
Pascal Kanfen (Renew, liberals), the chairman of the EP’s environment committee, spoke with satisfaction of a “very strong” message.
“It will be simpler to apply the text that includes all forest areas rather than to distinguish between a forest tree and a tree or shrub of another area” which raises “a risk of controversy”, explained WWF’s Pierre Canet.
Otherwise, “production will simply be transferred to other ecosystems” and the text “will accomplish nothing more than protecting one ecosystem at the expense of others,” the NGO noted with concern, according to which in the Sehandu savanna it may have deforested by 2027 an area equal to the entire territory of the Czech Republic.
Definition of ‘deforestation’
The definition of “deforestation”, key to the negotiations, is closely watched by European countries that also have large areas of forest exploitation.
States adopted a “weak definition, not taking into account ‘primary forests’ and only in cases of certified irreversible damage”, while MEPs called for “a strong definition that would protect all natural forests from destructive practices, including damage to biodiversity,” summarized Greenpeace.
Verification and human rights
Importing companies will be responsible for their supply chains, required to certify traceability using crop geolocation data and satellite imagery.
Violators will be subject to fines commensurate with the damage to the environment. The level of requirements will vary according to the risk of deforestation at the place of production.
EP negotiator Christoph Hansen (EPP, right) wants “financial and technical support” for SMEs and small farms, but according to a source familiar with the matter, the issue was still under discussion on Thursday.
MEPs also want imports to be conditional on respecting the “traditional land rights” of local communities, the first victims of forest destruction, but Sweden in particular opposes this definition.
“There is a huge debate on the condition of prior informed consent” and there is a push for this text to be accompanied by the conclusion of “real partnerships with the producing countries that are most affected”, according to Nicole Polsterer of the NGO Fern.
The financial sector
MEPs would still like to impose “additional requirements” on financial institutions to ensure that their loans and investments do not lead to deforestation, although Christoph Hansen admits that verifications would be difficult.
According to the NGO Global Witness, banks based in EU member states provided financing of almost 35 billion euros from 2016 to 2020 to groups that are among the main drivers of deforestation, mainly in the agri-food sector.
As far as the financial sector is concerned, “the position of the EC is not at all supported by some states”, Mr. Canfen enshrined.
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