The European Parliament in a 453 to 57 vote, proposed to implement rules to ensure that products sold in the EU are not sourced from deforested or degraded land, and that goods are produced in accordance with human rights provisions. The text adopted by the MEPs strengthens a proposal presented last year by the European Commission aimed at tackling global deforestation, identified as one of the most significant threats driving climate change and biodiversity loss. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an estimated 420 million hectares of forest, representing an area larger than the EU, were lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020, with EU consumption responsible for approximately 10% of global deforestation.

Source: ESG Today