Deforestation of the Amazon: French bank accused of financing actions in Brazil

Presented by the Brazilian Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) and the French association Notre Affaire À Tous in the Paris court, the complaint was revealed four days after BNP Paribas was sued by three other environmental defense associations, for its “significant contribution” to global warming, by its clients in the oil and gas sector.

⬇️Satellite images show the extent of deforestation in the Amazon released by the NGO WWF. Image:  José Cruz/Agência Brasil

It follows a formal notification issued at the end of October by CPT and Notre Affaire à Tous, requesting that BNP Paribas end its financial support for Marfrig, Brazil's second largest meatpacking company.

According to both organizations, the company “would have been responsible for more than 120.000 hectares of illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and Cerrado savannah” between 2009 and 2020.

The associations accuse BNP Paribas of having violated French law on the duty of vigilance.

The legislation requires multinationals based in France to establish a plan, “including reasonable surveillance measures to identify risks and prevent serious violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, health and safety of people, as well as the environment , resulting from the activities of the company and the companies it controls” in France and abroad.

“Despite its commitments and communications (…), the accumulated evidence of BNP's support for Marfrig and Marfrig's lack of vigilance in relation to its suppliers reveal the insufficiency of the measures taken by BNP. We cannot close our eyes to deforestation and forced labor and seek to be an actor of change and carbon neutrality”, argued the general delegate of Notre Affaire à Tous, Jérémie Suissa, in a statement released this Monday.

What BNP Paribas says

When contacted by AFP, the BNP said it “regrets” that NGOs seek “the path of litigation, rather than dialogue”.

The bank also stated that it requires that “by 2025 its customers have a 'zero deforestation' strategy in their production and supply chains, as well as full traceability of supply chains (direct and indirect) in beef and soy from the Amazon and of the Brazilian Cerrado”.

BNP adds that it “will no longer provide financial products or services to companies that are not aligned with this policy”.

(Source: AFP)

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