Among the products concerned are cocoa, coffee or soy, or even palm oil and wood.
Historical. This is the qualifier used by politicians and NGOs about the text adopted in Brussels on Tuesday morning to ban the import into the European Union of products responsible for deforestation in their country of origin. The text has been agreed between the European Parliament and EU member countries, and will take effect in 2024. “We had set this meeting date at the beginning of December with the European Commission and the Council of Member States. Because we wanted Europe to have an agreement in its pocket before COP15”, explains Pascal Canfin, President of the Environment Committee at the European Parliament. It’s a “world premiere”because it is the “the first commercial text dealing with the protection of biodiversity and the climate”, adds the MEP. Everyone is concerned. “It’s the coffee we drink in the morning, the chocolate we eat, the charcoal we use in our barbecues, the paper in our books. It’s radical”he adds.
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These everyday products will soon no longer be responsible for converting land to agriculture and livestock through forest fires that destroy valuable ecosystems. The latter are home to a vast biodiversity and temper the climate thanks to the trees and plants that capture CO2 and increase the humidity of the air. The situation is worrying in the Amazon, one of the main lungs of the planet. Nearly 9,500 km2 of tropical forests have been lost in Brazil in 2022, according to the Brazilian Institute for Space Research. “ A record since the implementation of observations in 2006 »deplores the NGO Mongabay.
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According to a WWF study, Europe is the second largest responsible for tropical deforestation (16%) in the world, after China (27%), but ahead of India (9%) and the United States (7 %). “I hope this innovative regulation will give impetus to the protection of forests worldwide and inspire other countries at COP15”adds the Luxembourger Christophe Hansen, rapporteur of the text at the European Parliament. “The agreement can be improved, in particular on the extension to other natural ecosystems and on the list of products. But it is historic”adds Pierre Cannet, head of advocacy for WWF France.
Possible extension to other products in two years
The list of products has expanded over the course of the discussions, even if maize for animal feed will only be concerned from 2025. In the meantime, the European agreement covers wood, cocoa, coffee, rubber, palm oil, soybeans, livestock and derivatives such as charcoal, beef, furniture, printed paper, wool, tires and “products in cosmetics that incorporate palm oil such as shampoo and lipstick”, says Pascal Canfin. Exporters, food and distribution groups will have to prove that the products imported into Europe are not responsible for deforestation in the country of origin by providing the satellite coordinates of the production of these foodstuffs.
I hope this innovative regulation will give impetus to the protection of forests worldwide and inspire other countries at COP15.
Christophe Hansen, Member of the European Parliament for Luxembourg
They will be compared to the images of December 2020, which will serve as a reference. Controls are planned for the countries most at risk, on 9% of transactions to Europe. The control rate will decrease, down to 1%, if countries are deemed not to be of concern. The list of countries will be established soon. Offenders risk a fine of up to 4% of their turnover in Europe. In addition, it is planned that other wooded lands, such as the Cerrado in Brazil and the savannahs, will be integrated into the European agreement in 2024. On this subject, France declared itself recently in favor, thanks to an arbitration won by Christophe Béchu, Minister of Ecological Transition.