Four environmental and consumer organizations warned this Friday of the need to comply with European legislation to combat global deforestation and asked the government to “introduce best practices in Portugal.”
Environmental organizations Zero and ANP/WWF, DECO – Consumer Protection and the Fair International Trade Platform TROCA say they are concerned that European legislation to combat global deforestation, the climate and biodiversity crisis “could be undermined”. “
The product in question is the European Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR), a diploma that came into force last year that organizations say could play a crucial role in achieving zero deforestation.
In their statement, the associations warn that almost all of the deforestation and degradation of the world’s tropical forests (90% to 99%) is due to the unsustainable expansion of agriculture aimed at producing food for export. The European Union (EU) is one of the main buyers of these products, and regulations prohibit the import of those products that are derived from deforestation.
Now, the statement said, despite the ruling’s approval, some states are “seeking to delay their commitments and weaken the new rules.”
The four organizations say that the ministers of agriculture and environment respectively, José Manuel Fernandez and Maria da Graça Carvalho, “who helped bring this law to life in the European Parliament,” should now “lead the implementation of best practices in Portugal.”
The diploma, the organizations emphasize, aims to prevent the movement of “deforestation-damaged goods” into and out of EU countries, namely those that contain or are hazardous goods, such as cocoa, coffee, cattle, palm oil, rubber, timber and soy. . Through legislation, the degradation of European and tropical forests such as the Amazon can be stopped.
But an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) found that states such as Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Romania had not committed the minimum resources to implement the EUDR, the four associations show.
As “deforestation continues to occur at an alarming rate,” EU governments are “seeking to undermine, deregulate and delay regulation, echoing the positions of some industries and devaluing “the recognized need to address environmental crises,” they warn.
According to the statement, the level of deforestation in the EU is currently the second highest in the world.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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