Forest the size of Brussels destroyed while ministers discuss EU deforestation law
Brussels – Six Greenpeace Belgium climbers scaled the facade of the EU Council headquarters in Brussels to display a live counter of the amount of forest destroyed around the world while environment ministers meet to discuss a proposed EU law to tackle deforestation. The counter on the Europa building displayed the number of hectares of forest destroyed while ministers talk – about 3,300 hectares, or an area roughly the size of the city of Brussels, during the 3 hours climbers were on the building.
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Environment ministers are discussing the European Commission’s draft law to cut the EU’s contribution to this destruction. These plans have come under fire for inadequately protecting human rights, providing no protection to ecosystems other than forests, like wetlands and savannahs, for omitting to place obligations on the financial sector and leaving out many products that have a high impact on nature, like pork, chicken, maize and rubber. Corporations are lobbying against requirements to trace the ingredients in their products to the exact location where the crops were grown or animals grazed, and European governments from forest-rich countries are threatening to undermine parts of the law to protect their own forestry companies.
Greenpeace EU agriculture and forest campaigner Sini Eräjää said: “Precious ecosystems are destroyed at an alarming rate to feed global commodity markets. We have a chance to end Europe’s complicity in this, giving people the assurance that nothing in their shopping basket is linked to destroyed nature or human rights abuses. Ministers must ensure that all goods driving ecosystem destruction can be traced back to the plot of land where they were produced, and protect forests not just from clearing for agriculture but also from destructive logging, instead of fighting for loopholes for their favourite industries.”
Between 2015 and 2020, the world lost 10.2 million hectares of forest every year – an area about the size of a football pitch every two seconds – mostly for the expansion of industrial agriculture, many products of which are consumed in Europe.
Greenpeace is calling on ministers to patch the gaps of the proposed draft law, rather than further weaken it, and ensure that all ecosystems are protected, all products covered and human rights properly respected.
Next steps
Following today’s meeting, the French presidency of the EU is expected to push environment ministers to agree their position by their next meeting on 28 June. The European Parliament has also started drafting its position, with a vote in the environment committee expected on 11 July.
Contacts:
Sini Eräjää, Greenpeace EU agriculture and forest campaigner: +32 476 975 960, [email protected]
Greenpeace EU press desk: +32 (0)2 274 1911, [email protected]
For breaking news and comment on EU affairs: www.twitter.com/GreenpeaceEU
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace. We do not accept donations from governments, the EU, businesses or political parties. Greenpeace has over three million supporters, and 26 independent national and regional organisations with offices in more than 55 countries.
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