EU adopts law to prevent soy, coffee and other commodities linked to deforestation

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EU adopts law to prevent soy, coffee and other commodities linked to deforestation

The European Union agreed on Tuesday December 6 on a new law to prevent companies from selling soy, coffee, and other commodities linked to deforestation around the world.

The law will require companies to produce a due diligence statement proving that their supply chains are not contributing to the destruction of forests before they sell goods into the EU - or they could face hefty fines.

Christophe Hansen, the lead negotiator of the European Parliament, said that "I hope that this innovative regulation will give impetus to the protection of forests around the world and inspire other countries at the COP 15".

Deforestation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, and will be in focus at a UN COP 15 conference this week, where countries will seek a global deal to protect nature.

Negotiators from the EU countries and the European Parliament struck a deal on the law early on Tuesday.

It will apply to soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa and coffee and some derived products, including leather, chocolate and furniture. At the request of EU lawmakers, rubber, charcoal and some palm oil derivatives were included.

Companies would need to show when and where the commodities were produced and verify that they are deforestation-free - meaning they were not grown on land deforested after 2020.

They must show that the rights of indigenous people were respected during the production of the goods.

Failure to comply could result in fines of up to 4 per cent of a company's turnover in an EU country.

The legislation will now be approved by the EU countries and its Parliament. The law can enter into force 20 days later, although some of the rules come into force for 18 months.

EU member nations will have to carry out compliance checks on 9 per cent of companies exporting from countries with high risk of deforestation, 3 per cent from standard-risk countries and 1 per cent for low-risk countries.

Countries like Brazil, Indonesia, Colombia, and Malaysia have criticised the EU plan, warning that the rules will be burdensome and costly.

EU environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius told Reuters on Monday that he had visited or spoken with the governments concerned by the law, and that the EU would work with countries to improve their capacity to implement the rules.