Investors and palm oil farmers urge EU parliament to reject proposed delays of EU Deforestation Regulation ahead of crucial vote
Tomorrow, the European Parliament will vote on proposals from the European Peoples Party (EPP) to delay and weaken the European deforestation regulation (EUDR). Institutional investors and Indonesian palm oil smallholders speak out in support of the EUDR and urge EU parliamentarians to reject the proposals.
CATTLE: Cattle in transport in the Brazilian Amazon. The EUDR would require exporters of Brazilian beef and leather to enure that the land used for cattle grazing has not been subject to deforestation since December 2020. Photo: Victor Moriyama/RFN
By Rainforest Foundation Norway.
“Industries that benefit from illegal deforestation want to delay and weaken the EUDR through the proposals from the EPP. The EU parliament needs to listen to the institutional investors and the Indonesian palm oil smallholders, reject the proposals and save the EUDR,” says Toerris Jaeger, executive director of Rainforest Foundation Norway.
Proposals weaken EU efforts to curb deforestation
Under the EUDR, specific products for export to the European Union (EU) will have to meet new rules relating to the land on which they were produced. Exporters will need to ensure the land has not been subject to deforestation or forest degradation since 31 December 2020.
On 2 October, the EU Commission proposed a one-year delay to the date the EUDR would enter into application.
In addition, the EPP tabled 15 amendments that will delay EUDR by not one but two years, exempt traders from its requirements, and introduce a new no-risk category that would apply to most EU countries. This would severely weaken the regulation. The Parliament will vote on the amendments on 14 November.
Investors: No justification for delays
The Investor Policy Dialogue on Deforestation (IPDD), representing 82 institutional investors from 21 countries with USD 11 trillion in combined assets, urges the Parliament to reject the proposed amendments from the EPP.
IPDD states that they “would like to see the European Parliament reject the European Commission’s proposal for a 1-year delay” and “see no justification for a delay of more than a year, which would further disadvantage countries and companies that have moved promptly to prepare for the new requirements”. Furthermore, they “would not want to see traders exempted from the EUDR’s requirements, since they are key participants in the supply chains that need to be monitored.”
Their message is echoed by the Association of Indonesian Palm Oil Smallholders (SPKS).
The SPKS “views the EUDR as a stimulus for improving plantation governance that respects the human rights of small-scale oil palm farmers” and say the delay is “postponing the resolution of conflicts with Indigenous peoples whose land was evicted by large plantations.”
The SPKS statement in Indonesian.
Industry links to EPP politicians
Earthsight has just published research which shows that the same industries that benefit from illegal deforestation are funding the EPP politicians that are now trying to undermine the EUDR. Their amendments threaten a cornerstone legislation of the European Green Deal, just to let their European industry funders off the hook.
This is not what the European public wants, as shown by a recent poll.
For additional comments, contact:
SPKS: Mansuetus Darto darto.spks@gmail.com +62 811-9266-663
Rainforest Foundation Norway: Chris Lyngaas, communications adviser chris@rainforest.no +47 408 54 965
On behalf of IPDD: Sara Skarvad, director of communication, Storebrand Asset Management, sara.skarvad@storebrand.com +46 70 621 77 92