Deforestation is now the second leading cause of climate change globally, after burning fossil fuels, and is responsible for around 11% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Forests host around 80% of the world’s wildlife on land and are home to many species found nowhere else. In the last 60 years, more than half of tropical forests worldwide have been destroyed, reducing biodiversity and endangering beloved and crucial species like orangutans and other great apes, tigers, leopards, and jaguars.
Commodities such as cattle and palm oil have been identified as some of the key drivers of deforestation. The UK believes that working in partnership with producer countries to strengthen forest governance is the best way to prevent illegally deforested commodities from the global commodity market.
This is why, as world leaders gather at COP28 for the next round of climate negotiations, we are confirming how UK law will work to prevent the use of forest risk commodities derived from illegally deforested land in UK supply chains.
The legislation will help to protect precious tropical forests at risk of illegal clearance. This will help us to support producer country efforts to enforce their laws and stop illegal clearance and protect vital forest habitat for endangered wildlife.
New due diligence requirements
In 2021 this Government introduced new legislation in the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. This is a flagship measure to deliver on the commitment made by the UK and over 140 other countries at COP26 in Glasgow to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.
Schedule 17 to the Environment Act introduced three core requirements on regulated businesses:
It prohibits them from using illegally produced forest risk commodities, including both raw and derived products.
It requires that they establish a due diligence system for each regulated commodity.
It requires that they report annually on their due diligence exercise. To ensure transparency, parts of their reports will be published.
Secondary legislation is necessary to operationalise the requirements of schedule 17. Therefore, we are developing regulations for key forest risk commodities to ensure that they were produced on land used in compliance with local land laws.
Commodities in scope
Initial secondary legislation will focus on four commodities identified as key drivers of deforestation: cattle products (excluding dairy), cocoa, palm oil and soy. These four commodities are estimated to account for 64% of the UK’s tropical deforestation footprint, with as much as 93% of this deforestation likely to be in violation of local laws. Regulating these four commodities will tackle over half of the UK’s estimated deforestation footprint and enable us to quickly put this critical regulation into force, while not disrupting trade and supply chains.