Products coming from deforested areas will no longer be imported, EU decides

The agreement also covers other products, such as palm oil, wood, beef and rubber, as well as various derivatives, including leather, chocolate, furniture, paper and charcoal, according to the text released after long negotiations between the European Parliament and the States -EU members.
“It’s a first in the world! It's the breakfast, the chocolate we eat, the charcoal from the barbecues, the paper in our books. It’s radical”, celebrated Pascal Canfin, president of the European Parliament’s Environment committee.

COP15 on Biodiversity

The decision was taken on the eve of COP15, which starts this Wednesday (7) and runs until the 19th, in Montreal. The EU agreement “not only changes the rules of the European consumption game, it also greatly encourages other countries to change their practices”, commented Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, from the NGO 'World Wide Fund for Nature' (WWF), while the organization 'Global Witness' said it was a “historic moment”.

According to data from 2017, the EU is responsible for 16% of global deforestation through its imports. Furthermore, it is the second largest destroyer of tropical forests, behind China, according to WWF.

The bloc will ban the import of products from deforested areas after December 2020. Importing companies will be responsible for their supply chains and will have to prove traceability through crop geolocation data, with satellite photos.

(With AFP)

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