One of the largest economies has fired a shot across the bow of logging, mining, and the agricultural industry that primarily destroys the rain making the biodiverse home of species that have evolved in the vast lush and hot environments thousand of years for palm oil. You've likely read how the plantations of cocoa, coffee, and grazing pastures for cattle destroy wildlife with some of the most disturbing images that you have ever seen in your lifetime. The European Union has sent a crystal clear message to retailers and supermarkets that agricultural products, such as beef, cocoa, coffee, and candy, sourced from tropical rainforests will no longer be accepted in the continent.
The landmark legal protections emerged during COP26 when 128 presidents and prime ministers signed the Declaration on Forest and Land Use to stop the crazy idea that corporations can deforest the tropics with no consequences for the irreversible damage to the largest living land-based carbon sinks in the world. Deforestation accounts for a quarter of the greenhouse emissions released into the atmosphere. The declaration is unfortunately not binding. After all, even genocidal-maniac Bolosaro signed the agreement. No teeth whatsoever to hold anyone accountable for these crimes against the planet.
But, the EU proposal? The EU sat down and got to work to produce consequences for those companies which disregard the damage to the planet that it isn’t going to be tolerated. The result of the discussions will not do all we want it to do such as banning rubber. Nor does it manage fragile ecosystems such as peatlands and the Cerrado savannah in Brazil. It is a giant leap forward nonetheless. The proposal does include flexibility that can "quickly react … to changing deforestation patterns".
The Guardian's Jennifer Rankin writes an informative piece titled The EU is sending a clear message to major supermarkets and retailers: one of the largest economies in the world won't accept agricultural products linked to deforestation."
The Lithuanian former economy minister also highlighted the inclusion of some derived products in the draft law: leather, chocolate and furniture. Companies will face a due diligence requirement to ensure they are not selling products that have caused deforestation or forest degradation, which will mean monitoring land in countries of origin via satellites and geolocation tracking.
Between 1990 and 2008, EU consumption led to 10% of global deforestation, according to a commission estimate. The proposals are likely to be amended in negotiations between member states and the European parliament before they become law.
Separately, the commission announced its intention to revive an attempt to protect European soils through legislation. About 70% of European soils are deemed not healthy as a result of farming, pollution and urban sprawl, while 1bn tonnes are washed away each year through erosion, an amount equivalent to 1-metre deep of soil across Berlin.
The commission, which regulates air and water quality, said it would publish the legal proposals in 2023 with the aim of achieving good soil health across the EU by 2050.
In the meantime, EU governments are being urged to set targets to minimise development on agricultural land and the natural environment, with more focus on redeveloping urban areas where the earth is already sealed under pavements and tarmac.
More than a decade ago, big EU member states, including the UK and Germany, thwarted plans for an EU soil protection law. Sinkevičius said Brexit “doesn’t make much difference”, as previously reluctant member states seemed more supportive.
The European Coalition on Corporate Justice reviews a second EU proposal on deforestation-free supply chains
In the case of the proposed legislation for deforestation-free supply chains, the EU is pursuing a product-based approach: certain critical products that are linked to the destruction of forests or specific ecosystems should only be allowed into the EU’s internal market if they meet certain criteria.
The interesting question, then, is which products are considered “critical.” Germanwatch and other environmental organizations are calling for the inclusion of at least soy, palm oil, rubber, beef, leather, poultry, coffee, cocoa, wood and corn.
In the future, companies that want to sell or trade such products in the EU will have to prove that they have done their due diligence and that their product has not contributed to deforestation before entering the market. To do this, they must introduce risk management and submit a due diligence declaration to the EU authorities. The demands of European environmental organizations on this process are summarized in this position paper.
On the other hand, the planned general EU supply chain law has a different approach: it is not product-related, but company-related. The idea behind it is that it would apply not only to manufacturers of particularly critical products, but to all companies in the EU above a certain size.
Binding due diligence would require companies to prepare risk analyses and continuously check whether there are risks to human rights and the environment in their global supply chains. If risks are identified, companies are to take measures to eliminate or prevent them, and when damage occurs, companies must also make amends and remediate. Such an EU supply chain law could have a preventive and widespread effect.
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Sometimes it seems that the spirits of ancient ancestors want to reach out to us and warn people about impending cataclysms, the perpetrators of which are the people themselves. In these messages, there is a call to people to come to their senses and stretch out each other's hands to unite for the sake of saving our Mother Earth and the Whole Life.