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In November 2021, the Commission tabled a proposal to tackle deforestation and forest degradation linked to specific commodities and products placed on or exported from EU markets. During its September session, Parliament will vote on the related report adopted by its Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). If it passes, this will form Parliament's position for trilogue negotiations with the Council.

This Briefing, written by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the PETI Committee, provides background information for the PETI Fact-finding visit to Poland scheduled from 19 to 21 September 2022. It investigates two main issues that were subject to specific petitions, namely the case of the Białowieża primeval forest (Petitions 0805/2017, 0812/2017 and 0623/2018) and the education of young persons and children with special ...

Covering nearly one third of the land surface of the globe, forests make a wide range of direct and indirect contributions to human well-being. Home to most of the world's terrestrial biodiversity, they also play an essential role in climate change mitigation, removing about a quarter of the CO2 that human activities add to the atmosphere. Worldwide, millions of hectares (ha) of forests and other types of vegetation burn every year. Fire dynamics are shaped by a complex set of factors, including ...

Forests and woods cover nearly half of the land surface of the EU. They play a vital role as they have the potential to mitigate the effects of climate change, provide many ecosystem services, contribute to the development of the circular bio-economy and provide employment for some 2.6 million people, in particular in rural areas. The European Parliament is expected to vote during its October I plenary session on an own-initiative report emphasising the need for an ambitious and strong EU forest ...

Nowhere in the world are forests shrinking faster than in south-east Asia. Rapid population growth and economic development put intense pressure on the environment. Between 1990 and 2020, an area larger than Germany was deforested, over half of it in Indonesia. Land clearing for agriculture is the main cause of deforestation. Driven by booming global demand, oil palm plantations have spread into formerly forested land, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia, which are the world's largest producers. ...

The European Union and forests

EU Fact Sheets 01-06-2017

The European Union (EU) does not have a common forestry policy. A large number of the EU’s policies and initiatives affect forests, however, both in the EU itself and in non-EU countries.

This study reviewed the state of transparency and accountability in the forestry sector in developing countries focusing on contributions of EU actions and provisions on the same. The study was based on review of literature, policies and reports on forest governance, using three FLEGT-VPA case study countries, namely Cameroon, Ghana and Tanzania. More than 200 million Euros have been invested into FLEGT-VPA and related activities around Africa with positive impacts on transparency, accountability ...

This briefing reviews Estonia’s progress in the transition to a circular economy, focusing on a three crucial and related policy areas: waste, renewable energy and sustainable bioenergy. A key challenge for Estonia in terms of moving to a circular economy will be to strengthen recycling, as well as high rates of separate collection in cities including Tallinn – Estonia is not on track to meet the EU’s 2020 targets for municipal solid waste recycling. • The share of renewable energy has increased ...

As a densely forested country, relying on a legacy of sustainable forest management and advanced forest-based industry, Finland is in a special position facing the current sustainability challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss and stagnating economy. This report, commissioned by Policy Department A at the request of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, presents the history of forest management and governance as well as recent developments in climate change, energy ...

A new impulse for EU forests

At a Glance 20-04-2015

Forests are a valuable asset, serving economic, social and environmental purposes. Forests and wooded land cover over 40% of European Union territory, and represent 5% of the world's forests. The EU is one of the biggest traders and consumers of wood products in the world. In September 2013, the European Commission presented a renewed Forest Strategy to improve the coherence of forest-related measures and allow synergies with other sectors that influence forest management.