Goods that cause deforestation will soon no longer be welcome in EU countries. Negotiators from the European Parliament and the member states have reached an agreement on it. Under the new rules, companies must be able to demonstrate that their products have not contributed to damage to forests worldwide.
For the production of agricultural products such as soy, cocoa, wood and rubber, forests are cut down, for example rainforest. This exacerbates the climate problem and is detrimental to biodiversity.
The EU wants to put a stop to this with new rules. This means that all companies involved must meet strict conditions in order to be allowed to sell their products in European countries.
They must prove that no trees were cut down during production or damage was caused to forests in any other way. Therefore, it must be clear where the products come from so that the production process can be controlled. In addition to the aforementioned goods, it concerns coffee, palm oil and livestock and products made from them, such as beef, chocolate and furniture.
The rules are not final. The European Parliament and the member states have yet to formally agree. After that, companies have eighteen months to comply with the new laws. Smaller companies have more time.
Environmental activists organizations are delighted but also critical. They believe that the EU should have gone much further. For example, Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund are disappointed that the new law does not apply to investors such as banks and pension funds. Furthermore, Greenpeace hopes that in the future so-called wetlands and savannas will still be protected and that corn and biodiesel will be on the product list.
