Deforestation Regulation

In October 2020, the European Parliament adopted a legislative own-initiative report calling on the Commission to take regulatory action on the role of EU consumption in global deforestation. Particularly, MEPs highlighted the need for mandatory due diligence for products placed on the Union market. The current Commission proposal responds to the Parliament's demand for a legislative initiative in this regard.

Forests continue to be lost at a rapid rate, which contributes to the climate crisis by increasing greenhouse gas emissions, removing carbon sinks and reducing global biodiversity. The current EU legislative framework focuses solely on tackling illegal logging, without addressing deforestation directly. As such, this proposal includes rules regarding products placed and exported from the Union market, including a benchmarking system to assess the risk of deforestation and forest degradation in countries importing products to the EU market.