Thread by @AssaadRazzouk

Every once a while, a momentous environmental law comes into force. That's the case of the EU Deforestation Regulation

This is the most consequential anti-deforestation law in history

THREAD #deforestation #climate #biodiversity

The EU Deforestation Regulation mandates extensive due diligence for operators and traders dealing with products derived from

> Cattle
> Cocoa
> Coffee
> Oil palm
> Rubber
> Soya
> Wood

2/12

whitecase.com/insight-alert/…

Non-compliance is very costly

Fines for companies caught importing, trading or selling banned products will total up to at least 4% of annual EU revenues. Using Nestlé as an example, this could mean a fine of about $800m

3/12

ft.com/content/49b48d…

But possibly even more important is the fact that over time, case law around the EU Biodiversity Regulations and and biodiversity loss may give rise to the possibility of directors’ liability for breaching their duties

4/12

The EU Deforestation Regulation is innovative and tough: The burden of proof for imports, and showing they are deforestation-free, is on traders and EU buyers and not on producing countries where law enforcement may be patchy (and I am being polite)

5/12

The 7 commodities required to be deforestation-free in order to be sold on the EU market or exported from it must be covered by a "due diligence statement" and produced in accordance with applicable local laws

6/12

Buyers and traders marketing these products in the EU (or exporting them from the EU) must:

> Conduct extensive diligence, down to the geolocation of all plots of land where they were produced
> Time-stamp the production

7/12

> Collect detailed information that demonstrates the products comply with the regulation
> Establish and maintain a due diligence system of procedures and measures to ensure relevant products comply
> Mitigate risks by carrying out independent surveys/audits

8/12

> Carry out a risk assessment in relation to each product to ascertain the risk of non-compliance, including human rights and whether indigenous rights were respected

9/12

In short, the law forces companies to clean up their supply chains, by holding them responsible for where they get their commodities from and ensuring suppliers aren’t violating applicable human rights, labor and environmental standards in the exporting country and the EU

10/12

This will result in a tsunami or consequences in countries exporting, for example, beef, leather, furniture, chocolate, palm oil or coffee to the EU - and meaningfully and forcefully fight-back against deforestation

11/12

carbonbrief.org/qa-what-does-t…

Gone are the incentives producers, traders and companies across the supply chain of these commodities had to [turn a blind eye to][not give a toss about the] associated environmental, biodiversity, human rights and climate catastrophes

[END] more reading: cdn.cdp.net/cdp-production…