Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 is refers to marketing in the European Union market already the export from the union of certain raw materials and products that may be associated with deforestation and forest degradation.
He EUDR establishes rules related to all those relevant productsthat contain or have fed or have been prepared using raw materials that may have contributed to deforestation, specifically, cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soybeans and wood.
The objective of this regulation is minimize the contribution of the European Union to deforestation And the forest degradation that is being suffered throughout the world, while aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop the loss of world biodiversity.
Will the EDR give results?
The EU regulation on deforestation (EUDR) establishes the creation of a methodology to classify countries according to their level of risk in human rights, illegality, forest degradation and deforestation. The classification is not a mere label: Under the EUDR, companies can perform a simplified due diligence to products from “low risk.” In practice, this means that both companies and competent authorities will examine the products from these areas with less attention.
Signatory organizations are concerned that the commission has repeatedly reiterated that most countries would be qualified as low risk and that some representatives have suggested that only countries under some type of UN sanction would be labeled as origins of “High risk” for products regulated by this regulation. This not only calls into question the objectivity of the process, but Reduces controls and leaves the marketing of products related to deforestation already serious violations of human rights.
NGO demands
Therefore, the organizations of the zero deforestation and others at European level have sent a letter to the commissioners Teresa Ribera, Kaja Kallas, Jessika Roswall, Joef Síkela and Maroš Šefčovič, urging that the classification methodology of countries provided in the EUDR Reflect the real risks. Specifically, organizations demand the European Commission that:
- Human rights violations are considered and the risks of illegality from the beginning for all countries, in line with letters c) Yd) of section 4 of article 29, including countries with low deforestation rates or forest degradation.
- UN sanctions are not used As the main or unique criterion to determine whether a country or parts of it are high risk.
- Forest degradation is considered along with deforestationwhich is consistent with the text of the regulation.
- Production trends are taken into account of all raw materials within the framework of the EUDR
- Trade agreements are not unduly characterized as risk neutralizers of deforestation, illegality and violation of rights.
In turn, the members of the Zero Deforestation Alliance They demand that the Spanish government only accept a methodology that allows a classification of countries based on objective criteria that reflect the real risks of violation of human rights, forest degradation and deforestation.
EUDR represents a historical milestone in the fight against deforestation, but Its application would be condemned to failure if the classification of countries according to their level of risk is not based on objective criteria, but on political or commercial interests.