EU Commission responds to backlash from 17 countries on “discriminatory” deforestation regulation

22 Sep 2023 --- The EU Commission (EC) has reacted to a joint letter sent last week, signed by various cosmetics and food supplier countries critiquing the EU regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) for establishing a “unilateral benchmarking system.” Personal Care Insights speaks to an EC spokesperson, exploring how the EU plans to address the concerns raised by the nations.

“The EU is aware of concerns raised by some third countries concerning the upcoming implementation of the EUDR, including in a letter sent by 17 countries to the EU institutions on September 7. We will reply in due course to the letter,” says the spokesperson.

“Meanwhile, as part of the implementation of the EUDR, the EU is significantly stepping up its engagement, both bilaterally with producer and consumer countries and in relevant multilateral fora, to ensure the new law is effectively implemented while working in partnership with producer countries.”

They add: “This includes a dedicated Task Force with Indonesia and Malaysia that has already been launched, and discussions are ongoing with other key partners to expand the dialogue.”

An upcoming Team Europe Initiative will launch at COP28. This will occur in the UAE from November 30 until December 12 this year.

Breaking COP26 promises?The EUDR will affect the sale and trade of palm oil, soy, beef, coffee, cocoa, timber and rubber, including its derivatives.
In response to the critical letter, the EC sets a reminder to previous global commitments to curb deforestation.

“At the 2021 Climate COP26 in Glasgow, 143 producer and consumer countries and the EU pledged to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. However, despite joint efforts, deforestation continues at an alarming rate. The timeline of 2030 must not be missed. We all have to work closely together to achieve this.”

The UN SDGs consist of 17 goals, one of which includes “‘Partnerships for the Goals’ to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.”

“The EU has had regular and constructive contacts with authorities and stakeholders from some of the main producer countries – Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, to name a few – on the EUDR developments from the initial steps of the EU proposal,” continues the spokesperson.

The letter accompanies signatures from ambassadors of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Honduras.

Question of discrimination
The ambassadors raised concerns that the EUDR establishes a one-sided benchmarking system that is “inherently unfair and punitive.” They suggested that it might be in conflict with WTO obligations, which aim to maintain a fair and non-discriminatory trading system.

“Further, smallholders may end up being excluded from international value chains not because they have deforested their land but due to their inability to show compliance with the stringent requirements imposed by the EUDR. That would unfairly deprive smallholders of an important source of income and livelihood and even impact their ability to adopt sustainable practices,” add the ambassadors.

However, the spokesperson clarifies: “The EUDR is a climate-oriented, environmental policy tool that will also be applied to domestic producers.”The EUDR was introduced on June 29 this year.

“Therefore, it will be implemented in an even-handed manner that does not constitute arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination for third-country producers or a disguised restriction to trade. It was designed to be fully compatible with WTO rules.”

Open source data
Alongside these developments, environmental researchers have also been stressing that successful protection and management of forests requires “international-to-local” actions. These need to benefit indigenous people and local communities, which depends on improved access to information on where and why forests are changing.

“Open-access satellite imagery allows accurate remote monitoring of forest cover in near real-time. These data are freely available, and their spatial and temporal resolution improves continuously. But it remains difficult to monitor the longer and more gradual processes of forest regrowth, reforestation and restoration,” says Gert-Jan Nabuurs, lead author and professor of European Forest Resources at the Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands.

Co-author and professor of Forest Ecology and Management, Prof. Douglas Sheil, adds: “In many regions of the planet, indigenous peoples and others offer the most effective eyes and feet on the ground. Their needs and observations must be recognized and integrated into an inclusive process of global forest monitoring and informed forest protection. This is part of the US$1.7 billion promised in Glasgow to support indigenous communities.”

“We fear that if those actions are not well-advanced in the coming months, the ability to monitor targets set for 2030 (and beyond) will disappoint everyone.”

By Venya Patel