20 April 2023 03:37 am
AFP.com, 19 April, 2023-The European Parliament adopted a new EU law on Wednesday that will ban imports deemed to be driving deforestation, throwing the bloc’s trade muscle behind a global fight against climate change.
The legislation, which has to get final approval from the European Union’s member countries, would apply to coffee, cocoa, soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper and rubber, and derived products, coming from countries around the world.
Imports that come from land that was deforested after December 31, 2020 will be prohibited in the huge EU market.
Companies sending such merchandise to Europe will have to show a certificate guaranteeing they do not come from such zones, with checks conducted on a sliding scale according to how high risk the exporting country is ranked.
The European Union is the second-biggest market for consumption of the targeted products after China.
The European Parliament estimates Europe is responsible for around 10 percent of deforested land around the planet.