EU Deforestation Regulation Significantly Weakened Amid Industry and Political Pressure
The EU deforestation regulation, initially proposed in 2021 by Frans Timmermans and hailed as ambitious, aimed to ban products linked to deforestation and require traceability of commodity origins. Since 1990, approximately 420 million hectares of forest have disappeared, a loss partly driven by European consumption patterns. However, Hugo Schally, the original author of the law, stated that the regulation has been largely hollowed out by removing obligations for downstream operators to verify commodity origins.
The final text of the regulation exempts many downstream actors from due diligence, introduces a low-risk exemption for small operators, and permits less precise data regarding commodity origins. These changes have significantly reduced enforcement capabilities and widened loopholes, complicating efforts to detect deforestation through proxy or laundering within supply chains. Furthermore, high-risk scrutiny remains narrowly focused on only four countries: Russia, Belarus, North Korea, and Myanmar.
The weakened compromise emerged following heavy pushback from multinationals, producer countries, EU countries with significant logging industries, and shifts in the European Parliament's political landscape. The United States also exerted influence, and a controversial exemption for printed products was included to appease certain political interests. The regulation originally advanced after a 2020 petition signed by 1.2 million EU citizens calling to ban deforestation-linked products.
Critics argue that the unraveling of the regulation signals the EU's willingness to roll back its green commitments. In contrast, the European Commission maintains that the revised text provides predictability for businesses and has already encouraged positive actions on the ground.
