About: deforestation
Viruses don’t stop at our borders
The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call for all of us. Human, animal, and plant health are all intrinsically interconnected. As the pandemic showed, we failed to integrate these three dimensions, writes Hilde Vautmans.OpinionPromoted content
To stop deforestation the EU needs to embrace small farmers, says a group of NGOs.
Leading NGOs, including the Fair Trade Advocacy Office, Solidaridad, Fern, IUCN NL, Tropenbos International, and the Rainforest Alliance urge the European Commission to create effective and equitable partnerships with small farmers to fight deforestation
Leaked EU anti-deforestation law omits fragile grasslands and wetlands
The fragile Cerrado grasslands and the Pantanal wetlands, both under threat from soy and beef exploitation, have been excluded from a European Union draft anti-deforestation law, campaigners have said, and there are many other concerning loopholes. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.
Macron to push for pesticide phase-out during EU presidency stint
France will push for "an accelerated phase-out of pesticides" at the EU level when it takes on the rotating EU Council Presidency in January 2022, President Emmanuel Macron told the World Conservation Congress which opened in Marseille this week
To stop deforestation, banks too must be reined in
A tough EU law on forest commodities must include both trade and the financial sector, write Irene Wabiwa and Christoph Thies.
Why Norway’s efforts to curb deforestation abroad is a PR stunt
Norway’s investment of billions in fighting overseas deforestation follows the West’s hypocritical relationship with climate change, once again shifting the blame on developing nations whilst diverting attention away from the West’s culpability in environmental destruction, writes Muhammed Magassy.
EU biofuels goals seen behind deforested area as big as the Netherlands
European Union targets to boost biofuel use are likely to have led to the deforestation of an area roughly the size of the Netherlands over the last decade to expand soy, palm and other oil crops, a report said on Monday (5 July).OpinionPromoted content
Why we all need to speak the same language when assessing building sustainability
As buildings account for 36% of the European Union’s CO2 emissions, reducing the environmental impact of any new building is essential to contributing to the EU’s ambition to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050. Vincent Briard is Group...
EU plans mix of mandatory and voluntary rules to tackle deforestation
The European Commission is planning to adopt a combination of mandatory and voluntary due diligence rules later this year to prevent global deforestation in its supply chains, marking a sharp turn away from its reliance on voluntary schemes.
EU agenda for global forests – Getting the balance right
The EU engagement in negotiating Forest Partnerships for the period 2022-2027 is expected to deliver on the European Green Deal priorities as well as the EU’s development cooperation objectives, including poverty alleviation and human rights.
IEA criticised over growing share of bioenergy in net-zero scenario
The International Energy Agency (IEA) published a new energy scenario on Tuesday (18 May), modelling for the first time how the world can achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and limit global warming to 1.5ºC.
Brazilian Amazon released more carbon than it absorbed over past 10 years: study
International team of researchers also found that deforestation rose nearly four-fold in 2019. EURACTIV's media partner The Guardian, reports.
On the EU’s plate every day: deforestation and natural destruction
The EU is responsible for 16% of ‘imported’ tropical deforestation, writes Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove. Will the new deforestation EU law live up to its promises?
Mercosur trade deal threatens to wreck EU’s climate credibility
To pass the EU-Mercosur deal in its current state would set an horrific precedent for future trade deals currently under negotiation and fly in the face of the EU’s landmark Green Deal, write Laurence Tubiana and Ani Toni.
Just 1% of businesses are taking strong action on deforestation: study
An analysis of the anti-deforestation work of 553 of the world's largest businesses has found that just 1% are taking 'best practice' action. This is despite the multi-billion-dollar risks associated with inaction, EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.
A photo-op with Jair Bolsonaro, anyone?
The EU must understand that a promise in a trade deal is no substitute for a deforestation control policy – something that’s awfully lacking in Brazil under its far-right regime, writes Marcio Astrini.
Lawmakers call for green ‘due diligence’ in Europe’s supply chains
Lawmakers in the European Parliament passed a resolution to tackle environmental and human rights issues in the supply chains of EU businesses by 504 votes to 79 on Wednesday (10 March) ahead of the Commission’s proposal on corporate due diligence later this year.
Political commitments not enough to ratify EU-Mercosur deal, says French minister
Mere "political commitments" will not be enough to ratify the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur countries, a French cabinet minister told the informal foreign affairs trade council on Tuesday (2 March), citing environmental and agricultural concerns. EURACTIV France reports.
‘Our forests are sick,’ Germany’s agriculture minister says
The German agriculture minister presented on Wednesday (24 February) a worrying annual report on the condition of German forests, which again highlights the dramatic effects of climate change on the ecosystem.
EU envisages €1 billion aid to Ivory Coast to meet sustainable cocoa laws
The European Union envisages providing around one billion euros over six years to aid Ivory Coast's cocoa sector as it adapts to EU supply chain laws due to be introduced later this year, its envoy in Abidjan said.
The EU must not greenwash the future destruction of the Amazon
As the political divide over the Mercosur trade deal widens, its advocates argue that shelving it will damage the EU’s credibility. The opposite is true, writes Perrine Fournier.
The EU’s watershed deforestation moment?
This week Ursula von der Leyen signalled the EU’s desire to lead the world in the fight against global deforestation. But if the key drivers of deforestation aren’t addressed, progress will remain limited, writes Julia Christian.
Europe renews pledge to fight deforestation at Paris biodiversity summit
The importance of forests for biodiversity and the need to protect them to prevent future pandemics was emphasised by Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel at the One Planet Summit on Monday (11 January).