The EU has opened the door to regulating supply chains to minimise the risk of deforestation associated with commodity imports to the EU. Fern welcomes this long-awaited move with cautious optimism and looks forward to working with the next European Commission on developing such a regulation, provided it pays equal attention to human rights...

“The Commission has finally opened the door to regulating the EU’s imports of commodities like palm oil, beef, soy and cocoa, which are the main drivers of worldwide deforestation and heavily associated with human rights abuses...

Our message today is to Ursula von der Leyen: we desperately need new laws that require companies to demonstrate that goods they put on the EU market are not tainted with deforestation or human rights abuses,” said Hannah Mowat, campaigns coordinator at forests and rights NGO, Fern.

Eighty per cent of global forest loss is due to the conversion of forest to crops and pasture. Agricultural deforestation happens because of increased global demand for agricultural commodities, notably due to the EU’s demand, national policies that aim to meet and stimulate that demand, and trade and finance policies that facilitate their sale and transport...