Agent Green and 55 organisations appeal to the European Commission over the anti-deforestation directive
Agent Green and 55 other organisations concerned with forests today submitted to the European Commission a letter addressed to Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Environment Commissioner Virginius Sinkevičius. The letter concerns the new European anti-deforestation directive expected next week, which has been significantly weakened by industry lobbying. The signatories insist that the directive must ensure voluntary certification schemes do not replace existing forestry rules, that the origin of timber is public, that the definition of forest degradation is clearer regardless of whether its causes are natural or human, and, last but not least, that the directive covers all companies, regardless of size.
Here is the full letter and list of signatories brought together in the Together4Forests coalition:
10.11.2021 Letter for EC_NGO recommendations on deforestation regulation_Together4Forests_FINAL (PDF in English)
EU deforestation law cannot afford to lower level of ambition
55+ NGOs call on the European Commission to not weaken upcoming deforestation legislation in a letter published today.
With just a week to go before the European Commission presents its legislative proposal, 56 NGOs from the #Together4Forests campaign are urging the Commission to not water down key elements of the future law. In a letter addressed to Commissioners Frans Timmermans and Virginijus Sinkevičius, the signatories indicate that if key elements of the text are weakened it will “drastically impair the EU’s potential to achieve its objectives and fight climate change and biodiversity loss”.
Over the last months, various organisations have given a series of recommendations to the Commission on the key elements needed for ambitious and effective legislation. These include, among others: a) the protection of ecosystems other than forests and of internationally recognised human rights, b) the inclusion of provisions on finance, c) the comprehensive definition of the product scope, and, d) the need to avoid exemptions to the due diligence for goods originating from supposedly “low risk” countries.
