The UK’s role in the global deforestation crisis is undeniably outsized but, as I’ve reported numerous times over the last few years, the government is conspicuously failing to act. Despite including a section on so-called “forest risk commodities” in the Environment Act passed in late 2021, under a Conservative administration, the secondary legislation required to enact it has still not been introduced, more than three years later.
While various NGOs, including Global Witness, which recently released a report on this issue, have consistently pressed the government - now Labour - to take action, members of the UK and global public are now joining in too. In January the US-based campaigning organisation Ekō launched a petition addressed to the UK government - “Deforestation-free products!” - which, as of today, has been signed by an impressive 56,331 people. Are you listening, Prime Minister Keir Starmer?
The petition asks the UK to “bring forward strong forest-risk commodities (FRC) legislation, to save forests and biodiversity around the world, and promote only sustainable and legal trade in forest products.” By “forest-risk commodities”, Ekō means things like palm oil, soy, beef, leather, cocoa, coffee, rubber and timber. Demand for these products is driving the devastation of tropical primary forests all around the world, particularly in countries like Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bolivia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Colombia and Peru.
Ekō’s website page explaining the petition acknowledges that while there is already “a deforestation law on the books under the Environment Act” it needs to be both operationalised and improved.
“It is yet to enter into force,” Ekō states. “And that law needs reform to protect the rights of forest communities.”
“Deforestation is still making its way onto our supermarket shelves, and the UK Government has to act to stop that, and to ensure that the law protects the rights of forest communities,” Ekō’s Eoin Dubsky tells me. “That's what we're campaigning for, and will continue to campaign for until it's delivered.”
According to Dubsky, most of the signatories so far are in the UK, but there are also many in other countries “where Ekō members have campaigned for similar forests- and human rights laws.”
“Ekō campaigned for a strong European Union Deforestation Regulation as part of a wide coalition of European, national and global groups,” Dubsky says. “We’ve also campaigned in the UK on related corporate accountability issues for years, so the opportunity to push Labour to deliver on its promise just came up.”
Does the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have any progress to report on legislation being introduced and/or improved? Nope. “We recognise the need to take action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation,” DEFRA tells me, “and we will set out the next steps on this in due course.”