The EU Commission throws climate and nature under the Omnibus

EU’s new Omnibus law is framed as a sensible simplification. In reality, the proposal hollows out existing regulations and makes them mere paper tigers.

EU COMMISSION: Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. Photo: Alexandros Michalidis/Shutterstock

By Rainforest Foundation Norway.

On 26 February, the EU presented its so-called Omnibus Law. The law encompasses several EU regulations that are crucial for the environment, human rights, and social responsibility. The CSRD and the EU Taxonomy focus on sustainability reporting, the CSDDD on sustainability due diligence, CBAM is the carbon border adjustment mechanism, and several investment programs are also affected.

“Cutting into the supply chain laws is not the solution for European competitiveness; it will instead simplify the destruction of nature”.

Ingrid Tungen, Head of Deforestation-free Markets in Rainforest Foundation Norway.

The most serious attacks on sustainability in the Omnibus Law are:

  • Companies would only be required to identify environmental and human rights risk in their direct suppliers’ operations and only conduct due diligence monitoring every five years (instead of every year). This means that violations in producing countries would largely go undetected and unaddressed. Our experience from the rainforests is that this is where deforestation, land grabs and violation of the rights of indigenous people occur.
  • The obligation for Member States to establish civil liability for harm caused by companies would be removed, making CSDDD a paper tiger without teeth nor claws. Victims’ access to justice would be undermined, and companies can continue to violate right and destroy nature with impunity.
  • Companies would not be required to implement climate transition plans, rendering the paperwork meaningless instead of simplifying it.
  • The CSDDD deadline for transposition into national law would be extended by one year and the CSRD reporting requirements by two years, awarding the laggards, penalizing the first movers, and moving the deadlines so close to 2030 that it will have no discernible effect on the EU’s commitment from COP28 in Glasgow to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.
  • Removing 80% of companies from the scope of CSRD and limit the reporting obligations of the Taxonomy to the largest companies leave them without coverage of a critical mass of companies, hollowing out the systemic impact while failing to level the playing field for companies.
  • EU Member States would no longer be able to establish more ambitious rules than the directive when it comes to the identification, prevention and mitigation of human rights and environmental impacts and the establishment of a grievance and notification mechanism.

While these regulations cover environmental and social sustainability broadly, they would also contribute to saving tropical rainforests if implemented fully and rapidly.

“We have already seen the EU Deforestation Regulation delayed by one year, and the Omnibus Law suggestion signals that EU is scaling back on its ambitions while they should be scaling up,” Ingrid Tungen says. “In light of how crucially dependent we all are on nature and a liveable climate, not only European companies but also the population as a whole, this short-sighted policy could have grave repercussions.”

EU must reject Omnibus Law proposal

RFN calls on the European Parliament and the European Council to reject the Omnibus Law proposal and instead cement the Union’s role as a global leader in corporate sustainability by implementing and enforcing these crucial pieces of legislation.

“Forests, climate, and nature need more action and regulation, not so-called simplifications that reverse most of the progress already made in securing ethical and sustainable supply chains and production standards. Consumers need clean supply chains, not dirty products, from Europe. The Omnibus Law must be rejected,” Ingrid Tungen concludes.

Contact:

Ingrid Tungen

Head of Deforestation-free Markets
(+47) 414 73 806
ingrid.t@rainforest.no