EU Commission wants to postpone deforestation law
Published: Wednesday, Oct 2nd 2024, 14:40
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Stricter rules for the protection of forests should actually apply to products such as cocoa and wood in the EU. However, the plan was widely criticized and now the EU Commission is reacting.
After months of criticism of an EU law to protect the rainforest, the EU Commission wants to postpone the project by a year. In view of feedback on the status of preparations, the parties concerned are to be given twelve months more time. If the EU Parliament and the member states approve the proposal, the law would come into force on December 30, 2025 for large companies and on June 30, 2026 for micro and small companies, the authority announced in Brussels.
Law to protect the rainforest
According to the regulation, products such as coffee, wood, soy, cocoa and palm oil may only be sold in the EU if no forests have been cleared for them after 2020. This should also significantly reduce the deforestation of the rainforest in the South American Amazon region, for example.
Specifically, companies will have to submit a due diligence declaration in future stating that no forest has been cleared or damaged for their product after December 31, 2020. Those who do not comply with the regulations will face high penalties of at least four percent of their annual turnover in the EU.
Many called for postponement
There had been criticism of the plan from the business community and across party lines. Accordingly, many reacted positively to the announcement. Manfred Weber, CSU politician and leader of the center-right EPP group in the European Parliament, sees the postponement as a success for his party. A bureaucratic monster has been prevented.
However, the Greens and FDP had also spoken out against the project in its planned form. For months, Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) has been critical and called for more time for implementation. The deputy leader of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Carina Konrad, had also repeatedly voiced her concerns.
The situation is similar for many companies. Forest owners, farmers and companies such as automotive suppliers would be affected, would have to comply with new reporting obligations and are critical of the regulation.
Criticism from the EU Parliament
MEP Anna Cavazzini takes a different view to her party colleague Özdemir. She described the planned postponement as a tragedy, which is taking place in the context of the largest destruction of forests on the Latin American continent in recent years. This is a frontal attack on EU climate policy.
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