Brussels, November 17 (BNA): The European Union, on Wednesday, put forward a new plan for EU citizens to combat global deforestation from their homelands, and offered reassurances that a sip of coffee or a piece of chocolate would not come at the expense of trees.
Following up on deforestation commitments made at the recent COP26 climate meeting on global warming, the 27-nation European Union is proposing that companies must ensure that products for sale in a market of 450 million people do not harm forests elsewhere.
“We must take responsibility for acting at home,” said EU Vice President Frans Timmermans.
If approved by EU member states and the European Parliament, the commission’s proposal would force companies and producers to provide assurances that products are “deforestation-free,” according to an AP report.
The main cause of deforestation in South America, Africa and Asia is due to agricultural expansion. The main commodities targeted by the EU are soybeans, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa and coffee.
To force the company to comply, the companies will need to collect geographic coordinates from where the goods are grown and ensure that they have not affected the deforestation. They will also need to do their due diligence to make sure everything meets EU standards.
With the plan, the European Union hopes to save about 3.2 billion euros ($3.6 billion) annually in carbon emissions.
“Our deforestation regulation responds to citizens’ call to reduce the European contribution to deforestation and promote sustainable consumption,” Timmermans said.
“It ensures that we only import these products if we can be sure that they are free of deforestation and that they are legally produced,” he said.
At COP26, more than 100 countries representing more than 85% of the world’s forests pledged to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Among them were several countries with massive forests, including Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Indonesia, Russia and the United States.
Environmental groups have welcomed the plan with caution, although they said the proposals still contain many loopholes.
“For the first time there is a glimmer of hope that the European Union – one of the world’s largest markets – can reduce its devastating impact on the world’s forests,” said Greenpeace activist Sene Iraga.
insult