If rainforest has been cut down for the production of coffee or chocolate, these products may no longer be sold in the EU in the future. In addition to climate protection, the rights of indigenous people are also to be strengthened.
In the future, products such as coffee, cocoa, wood or palm oil may only be sold in the EU if no forests have been cleared for them after 2020. In Brussels, the EU states approved a corresponding law that they had previously negotiated with the European Parliament. In the event of violations, companies face high penalties.
This is intended to significantly reduce deforestation in the rainforest, for example in the South American Amazon region. According to information from the EU Parliament, around ten percent of the deforestation between 1990 and 2020 can be traced back to consumption by consumers in the EU.
According to the EU states, the expansion of agricultural land is the main cause of global deforestation and forest degradation. In concrete terms, companies will in future have to submit a declaration of due diligence stating that no forest was cleared or damaged for their product after December 31, 2020.
This also includes the conversion of primeval forests into plantation forests. Furthermore, the due diligence obligations include the protection of human rights and consideration for the interests of the indigenous peoples concerned.
control authorities strengthen, increase penalties
Anyone who does not comply with the regulations must expect high penalties of at least four percent of the annual turnover in the EU. The rules also apply to processed products such as chocolate, printed paper, wooden furniture or selected palm oil-based products.
How closely the rules are monitored depends on the classification of the countries of origin into three different risk classes. In high-risk countries, authorities in the EU countries should in future check nine percent of the goods and importers, in the other groups of countries three and one percent respectively.
The environmental organization WWF is now demanding that control authorities in Germany, such as customs, be significantly strengthened and that violations of the rules be punished with dissuasively high penalties. Larger companies will have to comply with the new due diligence obligations from December 2024 and smaller ones from June 2025.
Schulze: New law is a “milestone”
Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) described the new law as a milestone. She also said: “We in Europe also contribute to the deforestation of forests in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia with our consumption.” Work is currently underway to support smallholders in producer countries in producing without deforestation and also to prove this.
Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) also commented on the new legislative decision and emphasized: “Our task is to protect the forests for the future of our children and grandchildren.”