All eyes on the European Commission, as crucial EU decision on deforestation due “in a matter of weeks”

In the coming weeks, the European Commission is set to make a crucial decision about the fate of the world’s forests and how to address the impact of EU consumption on deforestation.  

The decision is about developing an Action Plan on deforestation and degradation, as envisaged by the Council and Parliament in 2013 in the context of the 7th EU Environment Action Programme. 

Failure to act would mean the EU will be unable to deliver on its international commitments to halt deforestation by 2020, to protect our climate and biodiversity, and to guarantee that human rights including the rights of indigenous peoples are respected. 

In this joint NGO statement, ClientEarth calls on the Commission to develop such an Action Plan and bring forward new legislation to tackle deforestation.

In ClientEarth's view, this action should contain a binding EU instrument to tackle EU imports of commodities linked to deforestation and focus on forest conversion, the leading cause of deforestation today.