The UK urgently needs to curb its complicity in the global deforestation crisis. Tropical primary forest continues to be cleared at a devastating rate - an estimated 3.7 million hectares in 2023 - at an immense cost to 100s of millions of people, wildlife, biodiversity and the climate change struggle, and among consumer countries the UK is one of those most responsible. Given the utter failure of the private sector to address this issue over recent decades, as powerfully reiterated in a report last month by the UK-based NGO Global Canopy, regulation by governments is now more necessary than ever.
The UK made a seemingly half-hearted stab at regulation when it included a section on so-called “forest risk commodities” in the Environment Act introduced in 2021, but more than two and a half years later the secondary legislation required to enact that section of the Act still hasn’t been published. Indeed, the section on forest risk commodities desperately needs to be improved in numerous ways too - or it runs the risk of being rendered largely or even entirely meaningless in practice.
So what might the UK’s political parties have to say on this? Anything on the state of Planet Earth’s forests in general, or forest risk commodities and the Environment Act in particular? A General Election is scheduled for next month - 4 July - and in recent days the parties have been releasing their manifestos.
Somewhat ironically, the Conservative and Unionist Party (CUP), in power for the last 14 years, is the most encouraging: “We will deliver our commitment at COP28 to introduce forest risk commodities legislation early in the next Parliament, tackling our impact on illegal deforestation internationally,” its manifesto states. However, that means precious little given that the Conservatives are widely expected to be crushed at the ballot-box, not to mention the fact that for months government spokespeople have been saying the secondary legislation is “imminent.” In addition, the focus on illegal deforestation only - rather than all deforestation - is one of the reasons why the Act is so weak and needs to be given a serious makeover.
Across the other parties, there is effectively nothing. The Liberal Democrats say something vague about ensuring “nature-based solutions form a critical part of our strategy to tackle climate change by working with international partners to fight deforestation around the world”, while the Greens say something even vaguer: “we can no longer continue to exploit oil, gas, forests and oceans for economic growth - their overuse is already threatening our future survival, as well as the future of our economy and society.” Reform UK say zilch - nothing about forests at all.
Perhaps most notable - and potentially most alarming - is Labour, on course to win the Election. Despite a commitment to “restore [to the UK] the strong global leadership needed to tackle the climate crisis”, despite the fact that global deforestation is a major contributor to that crisis because of the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are released when forest is cleared or disturbed, and despite the party’s promise to work together with “international partners” such as Brazil, where more forest is cut down than any other country worldwide, there is nothing about the legislation that the UK so obviously needs to improve, enact and enforce. In fact, the only references to forests at all in Labour’s manifesto are the UK’s own: they plan to “establish three new National Forests in England” as well as expand “nature-rich habitats such as wetlands, peat bogs and forests so families can explore and wildlife can thrive.”
But families and wildlife in other parts of the world want to enjoy the forests they live in or visit too! If Labour gets in and really wants to push for global climate leadership, or more humbly just pull together as one nation among others, then one of the first things it must do - through swiftly improved legislation - is stop UK consumers, companies and banks et al from ultimately destroying peoples’ homes, devastating biodiversity, razing wildlife habitat and exacerbating the climate crisis by contributing to the plunder of our Planet’s glorious forests.