Human Rights Watch has raised concerns over the European Commission’s proposed revisions to its anti-deforestation regulation, pointing out the implications of excluding leather from the list of regulated products. The criticism highlights the EU’s inconsistency in tackling deforestation, especially since cattle ranching, which produces beef and leather, is a major driver of forest destruction around the world.
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), enacted in 2023, was designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss by mandating traders ensure their products are ‘deforestation-free’. This involved stringent due diligence requirements such as providing geo-location data for commodities like cattle, coffee, and soya. Non-compliant companies face severe penalties, including fines linked to their EU turnover and confiscation of goods.
Successes from the EUDR are already visible, with the regulation projected to reduce EU-driven deforestation by 29% by 2030. Notably, about 50% of the world’s cocoa is now traceable to specific geolocations thanks to implementation efforts. However, challenges persist, particularly in tracing the origins of soy, which indicates ongoing logistical hurdles.
Recent amendments to the legislation aimed to ease compliance for businesses, pushing the next compliance deadline to December 2026. Meanwhile, considerable progress has been observed in tropical forest regions. In Malaysian Borneo’s Sarawak, a moratorium on new oil palm plantation permits has been established, driven in part by EU pressure. Similarly, Pará in Brazil set up a cattle traceability system in the Amazon, partly to compete with Asian and EU markets.
Despite these advances, Human Rights Watch argues that the exclusion of leather undermines the EUDR’s goals. The Commission’s draft law that potentially allows for leather, derived from cattle raised on illegally deforested land, contradicts its stance on beef imports. The full consequences of such legislative choices remain uncertain, but the urgency for a coherent approach is clear, especially given the role of cattle ranching in global deforestation.
This issue, as covered by Reuters, has sparked debate over the EU’s commitment to fighting environmental challenges. As the EU seeks public feedback on its draft law, the outcome will play a crucial role in shaping the global deforestation discourse for years to come.