Highlights

• EU Member States introduce a one-year delay and simplifications to the EU Deforestation Regulation.
• WWF warns that weaker rules place zero-deforestation goals at risk and undermine earlier public spending on the regulation.
• European Parliament prepares to vote on the European Commission’s proposal following widespread criticism of the revised position.

EU Member States have taken a position on the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) that many environmental groups describe as a major retreat from the regulation’s original purpose.

Instead of moving ahead with the European Commission’s proposal, governments agreed to a one-year delay, lighter rules, and a review even before the law starts.

This move puts the objective of zero deforestation at risk, since the EUDR was meant to keep products linked to forest loss out of the EU market.

Read More: EU Deforestation Law Faces Embarrassing Delay Over Technical Failures

Policy-makers, says WWF, travelled to Belém to speak about the climate crisis, yet inside the EU, they shaped a plan that weakens the EU Deforestation Regulation.

It further added that statements from governments that tackling deforestation remains a priority do not match their decision. The approval of new delays and simplified procedures strips the regulation of its environmental purpose and sidelines the public money already invested in preparations.

For the past year, governments have pushed for postponements and exemptions. The EUDR, once described as a landmark instrument for deforestation-free supply chains, has turned into a policy with shifting conditions.

Also Read: Brussels Changes Course on EU Anti-Deforestation Law

Businesses that prepared for compliance now face confusion because political negotiations changed direction repeatedly, then arrived at yet another postponement rather than a stable path for implementation.

The European Parliament votes next week on the Commission’s proposal.

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Source: WWF