The European Parliament on Thursday approved a one-year delay on implementing the bloc’s landmark anti-deforestation rules, while also voting to loosen some requirements of the controversial law.
The move triggered an outcry from environmental groups, which had hailed the law as an unprecedented breakthrough in the fight to protect nature and combat climate change.
Parliament was called to sign off on a delay requested by the European Commission following pressure from trading partners such as Brazil and the United States, and some member states including Germany.
But lawmakers on the right used the vote to bring new amendments, passed with support from right-wing and far-right groups.
This de facto restarted the legislative process, as the new text should now be re-discussed by the commission and member states — creating further uncertainty over its implementation.
The legislation would prohibit a vast range of goods — from coffee to cocoa, soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper and rubber — if produced using land that was deforested after December 2020.
Exporting countries considered high-risk would have at least nine percent of products sent to the EU subjected to checks, with the proportion falling for lower-risk ones.
Among the amendments introduced Thursday was the creation of a “no risk” category that would see products from some countries — such as Germany — face virtually no scrutiny.
Julia Christian, a campaigner at environmental group Fern, said it was the equivalent of giving “EU forested countries a free pass.”
“The message to the rest of the world is unmistakable: you must stop destroying your forests, but the EU won’t end the widespread degradation afflicting its forests,” she said.
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