“This is where is becoming embedded into international trade and global value chains.”ĭeforestation has been a prominent concern for the past 30 years, but it’s always been within the realm of bilateral agreements between countries, says Reza Azmi, founder and director of Wild Asia, a Malaysia-based enterprise that supports oil palm smallhoders. “And this is why regulating agri commodities that are contributing to deforestation is very important.” With the various policies under its Green Deal, the EU is showing a clear commitment to start addressing climate change on a mandatory basis, Lamolle says. “It’s time to fight climate change on every front,” says Mathieu Lamolle, senior advisor at the International Trade Centre (ITC), a joint United Nations (UN) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) agency. It targets seven key commodities – cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya, wood – and many of their derivatives. The EU deforestation regulation, approved by the EU Council on 16 May, sets the end of 2024 as a deadline to stop all imports and exports of products associated with deforestation at any point in their supply chain. The oversight could cost developing countries dear and ultimately risks thwarting the bloc’s plan to protect the world’s forests, they add. The EU’s unprecedented effort to eliminate deforestation from its supply chains fails to consider the poorest growers that form the backbone of palm oil production, say businesses and civil society in Southeast Asia.

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