Can the goods we buy and the services we use affect the survival of the rainforest? The EU thinks so and this episode explores its new law on deforestation, which is provoking a backlash from companies and countries who are negotiating over how to delay the application of the new rules.
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00:00Can the products we buy such a hot chocolate drink and the service we use affect the survival
00:20of rainforests?
00:21Do you think so?
00:23The new deforestation law requires businesses to prove that the manufacturing process and
00:28supply chains are not responsible for destruction of forests.
00:33But some companies complain about the red tape and costs involved so the rules have
00:38been delayed.
00:39This week EU Decoded untangles the controversy.
00:44Rainforests are crucial for climate stability, especially in the tropics of South America,
00:48Africa and Asia.
00:50But in the last three decades, 420 million hectares have been destroyed, an area slightly
00:56larger than that of the EU.
00:58That land was used for extraction of materials and agriculture.
01:02With the new law, cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soybeans, wood, rubber, coal and paper
01:09will be affected.
01:11These products will only be sold on the EU market if they're not linked to land deforested
01:15after 2021.
01:18Under the deforestation law, companies will have to monitor supply chains and some products
01:24may become more expensive.
01:26What do consumers think of this trade-off?
01:54Grégoire Lorry has been covering this controversial law for Euronews and can give more details.
02:25The deforestation law was due to be implemented by Member States already from December 30th.
02:31So why did the Commission recently ask to postpone it for one year?
02:36There has been calls and worries from different parts growing, especially over the summer.
02:44So calls from Member States, from third countries, from companies, operators, traders.
02:49They were highlighting either loopholes or practical details that were unanswered, for
02:56some maybe geopolitical reasons.
02:59The governments in the 27 EU countries agreed with this postponement, but then when the
03:05vote took place in the European Parliament on November 14th, the law was changed again.
03:11Who wanted those changes?
03:13That was the EPP.
03:14Which is a bit strange because the EPP had the rapporteur on the previous deregulation
03:19so it means that the EPP has changed a bit its position.
03:22But it's not only the EPP, it's the EPP with the support of the far-right.
03:27So it's a new kind of majority that took part in this text.
03:34The EPP said that the former text was too bureaucratic with too stringent rules.
03:42And they got the votes with the help of the far-right in this case, which also was kind
03:46of a provocation to the Greens and the Socialists that have been trying to build a consensus.
03:53Indeed, and it's interesting to follow because it's a majority EPP centre-right with the
04:00far-right that has decided to water down the text.
04:04And it is a different majority that had supported von der Leyen a few weeks before that was
04:09a majority with Renew, the Greens and the Social Democrats.
04:13So what comes next in terms of negotiations?
04:16Well, either the text goes through the usual institutional process, so the text has to
04:23be endorsed by the Council, representing the Member States, and by the Parliament.
04:29However, some parties within the Parliament, like the Social Democrats or the Greens, are
04:35calling the Commission to withdraw its proposal to postpone the implementation.
04:41And the left also is asking for the vote to be redone because there were technical
04:46issues during the vote.
04:48Once the law comes into force, both producers and import-export companies must put in place
04:54a monitoring system.
04:56Member States will make inspections and fines worth up to 4% of a company's turnover could
05:01be imposed.
05:02The European Commission will also define countries as having a low, standard or high risk of
05:07deforestation.
05:08But the European Parliament has voted to add a new no-risk category that would exempt countries'
05:13enforcement.
05:14With us at the European Parliament is Anna Cavazzini, Chair of the Committee on Internal
05:20Market and Consumer Protection.
05:22So the deforestation law is another part of the Green Deal that has become highly politicized
05:28and somehow put on ice.
05:31Is the credibility of the European Union as a decision-maker at stake here?
05:36Yes, I find highly problematic what happened because indeed we're passing laws, companies
05:43are getting prepared for it, citizens are getting prepared for it and then all of a
05:47sudden we say, ah yeah, we want to weaken the law again or we want to postpone the law
05:50again and I think this creates more chaos and indeed threatens the EU as a credible
05:57decision-maker.
05:58Some industry sectors are highly critical of it, while others want a law as soon as
06:04possible.
06:05How do we explain this?
06:06There is a lot of companies who also already in the past committed to zero deforestation
06:12because they know that it's really, really difficult if we destroy our whole biodiversity.
06:17If the EU with our imports, we also continue destroying forests in the world.
06:22But there is also lobby pressure, there is companies who don't want to change or who
06:26say, okay every change I have to do in my company policy is new bureaucracy.
06:31Of course at the beginning there is new bureaucracy, you have to introduce new measures but I think
06:35after a year when you really introduce new mechanisms it will be much easier and then
06:41you also have a clear supply chain and then you can easily obey to the law, comply with
06:47the law.
06:48The USA, Brazil and Indonesia criticise the law while other markets hope to beneficiate.
06:55How important are the third country studies law?
07:00Of course we don't know what happens to Trump but the current US government was never against
07:04the law, they just wanted the postponement.
07:06If you speak to different stakeholders in Brazil, you know I'm a lot in contact with
07:10environmental NGOs, with indigenous communities and those who really protect the forest and
07:15they like the law, they find it really, really important.
07:17If you talk to the agri-industry of course in Brazil, they are not so happy about the
07:21law so you also have to specify a little bit whom you talk to but of course it's important
07:25to reach out to third countries, it's important to not make laws against them but include
07:29them in the legislation, in the law making process and I think this we have to probably
07:33do better next time.
07:35Our consumption in Europe is set to contributing 10% to global deforestation, in turn this
07:42has been linked to climate change with natural disasters becoming increasingly more common
07:47everywhere.
07:49At what pace should we move forward to reverse the situation and are we willing to pay the
07:54price?
07:55I'll be back next week for more EU decoding.