Deforestation rules 'will send mixed signals'

Published date26 March 2024
Publication titleEvening Chronicle
Government plans will see businesses prohibited from using or selling goods containing palm oil, cocoa, beef, leather and soy linked to illegal deforestation under the 2021 Environment Act

But ministers are yet to publish the legislation or set a date for the rules to come into force with the Environment Department (Defra) saying it "will be laid when parliamentary time allows".

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said the Government rejected some of its recommendations to stop firms from trading products linked to forest loss.

This included advice to halt the sale of these products, regardless of whether the deforestation was legal in the producer country or not.

The MPs said this "zerodeforestation" approach would encourage consistency in trading such commodities across UK and European markets, increasing protections for areas at risk of deforestation.

But in its response...

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