Relief in Brazil and Asia over delay in EU deforestation rules October 7, 2024

Palm oil production has long been a factor in deforestation (Yasuyoshi CHIBA)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Relief in Brazil and Asia over delay in EU deforestation rules

On Thursday, Brazil's government joined Asian palm oil and coffee producers in welcoming the European Union's decision to postpone the implementation of new anti-deforestation rules that have faced strong global resistance.

Brazil, the United States, and other countries have criticized the law - which aims to prevent the import of products that cause deforestation - for being too complex, arguing that it would mainly harm small producers.

The law should have come into force at the end of 2024, but the European Commission proposed on Wednesday to postpone implementation for large companies until the end of 2025.

Small businesses will have until June 2026 to come into compliance.

Brazil's Agriculture Ministry told AFP that the postponement was the result of “an international dialogue, in which Brazil played a key role in emphasizing the concerns of our producers.”

The ministry added that Brazil, which is home to around two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest, large portions of which have been cleared for agriculture, remains “firmly committed to environmental preservation” and will seek to “ensure a fair adaptation to the new European rules.”

Asian commodity producers also expressed relief at the extension, but environmental groups expressed outrage.

Greenpeace said that EU chief Ursula von der Leyen “might as well have wielded the chainsaw herself” over the forests.

The Brazilian Climate Observatory called the extension a “shameful step backward” that jeopardizes the fight against deforestation since the country is choking on smoke from thousands of fires caused mainly by deforestation in the Amazon.

“Europe is deliberately renouncing an instrument that could help reduce pressure on natural ecosystems and carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation,” he said in a statement.

The new EU law requires exporters of timber, cattle, cocoa, soy, palm oil, rubber, coffee - and items derived from these products - to certify that their goods have not been produced on deforested land after December 2020.

The EU is the second largest market for the targeted products after China.

In September, Brazil asked the EU to postpone the legislation, complaining that the “punitive” rules increased production and export costs, especially for smallholders.

Germany and other countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America also insisted that companies needed more time to prepare.

- Divided opinions - You're not sure.

Nguyen Xuan Loi, head of Vietnamese coffee exporter An Thai Group, hailed the delay as a “positive measure.”

“In reality, Vietnam has strictly managed deforestation issues,” he told AFP. “There are hardly any more violations.”

There was also relief in some quarters in Indonesia, the world's biggest producer of palm oil, one of the main drivers of deforestation.

“Our appeals have been heard,” said Eddy Martono, president of the country's main palm oil association.

Indonesian environmental group WALHI said, however, that it “could not imagine how much more deforestation or land clearing the one-year delay could cause in West Kalimantan and other places like Papua.”

EU imports were responsible for 16% of global trade-related deforestation in 2017, according to WWF.

When the law was adopted in 2023, it was hailed as a breakthrough to protect nature and the climate.

According to the law, companies that import goods into the EU from 27 countries will be responsible for tracing their supply chains to prove that the products did not originate from deforested areas based on geolocation and satellite data.

Exporting countries considered high risk would have at least nine percent of products sent to the EU subject to checks.

The postponement of the law still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and the member states.

burs-cb/bgs