MEPs have today (Wednesday, April 19) voted in favour of a new law to ban the importation of products into the EU, including beef and soya, which are linked to deforestation.
The legislation means that companies will only be allowed to sell products in the EU if the supplier of the product has issued a so-called “due diligence” statement confirming that the product does not come from deforested land or has led to forest degradation after December 31, 2020.
Companies will also have to verify that these products comply with legislation in the country of production, including on human rights, and that the rights of affected indigenous people have been respected.
Deforestation
The products covered by the new legislation are: Cattle; cocoa; coffee; palm oil; soya; and wood.
The law also covers products that contain, have been fed with or have been made using these commodities such as leather; chocolate; furniture; rubber; charcoal; and printed paper products.
The EU Parliament also secured a wider definition of forest degradation that includes the conversion of primary forests or naturally regenerating forests into plantation forests or into other wooded land.
The new law means that the EU will classify counties, or parts of them, as being of low, standard or high risk based on an assessment which will be carried out within 18 months of the regulation coming into force.
Products from low-risk countries will be subject to a simplified due diligence procedure.
EU authorities will be provided with information by companies, such as geolocation coordinates, and will conduct checks using satellite monitoring tools and DNA analysis to check where products come from.
Companies found to be non-compliant with the law will be fined at least 4% of their annual turnover in the EU.
The new law was adopted by MEPs with 552 votes to 44 and 43 abstentions. The text of the regulation must now be formally endorsed by the EU Council.
Following today’s vote, rapporteur Christophe Hansen said:
“Until today, our supermarket shelves have all too often been filled with products covered in the ashes of burned-down rainforests and irreversibly destroyed ecosystems and which had wiped out the livelihoods of indigenous people.
“All too often, this happened without consumers knowing about it.
“I am relieved that European consumers can now rest assured that they will no longer be unwittingly complicit in deforestation when they eat their bar of chocolate or enjoy a well-deserved coffee.
“The new law is not only key in our fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, but should also break the deadlock preventing us from deepening trade relations with countries that share our environmental values and ambitions,” Hansen said.