European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) deadline extended for a second time

 

Last week the EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall notified the European Parliament Environment Committee of the intention to delay the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by one year. While the final decision is still pending, this would be the second time the law has been delayed following the extension of a previous deadline from December 2024 to December 2025.

The new law aims at ensuring that products imported to or exported from Europe do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation. The latest delay has been proposed due to concerns over the IT platform managing compliance data, creating “uncertainty for authorities and operational difficulties for stakeholders.”

Proforest’s Executive Director, Global and Europe, Ruth Nussbaum, has made the following statement on the proposed delay with recommendations on how to continue delivering positive impact:

“Further delays to the EUDR creates more uncertainty for companies, many of whom have put a lot of effort into meeting the deadline this year. However, many companies have independently been delivering positive impact through commitments to Deforestation and Conversion Free (DCF) supply chains, and this progress will surely continue regardless. We know from our work with companies ranging from global household brands to collaborative spaces like the Consumer Goods Forum's Forest Positive Coalition of Action and the Palm Oil Collaboration Group, that concerted efforts to prevent commodities contributing to deforestation entering supply chains have been underway for many years."

While the Commission works on addressing its IT challenges, it should also consider some of the unintended consequences of compliance with the regulation in its current form. EUDR does not recognise how smallholders integral to the production of commodities like cocoa and oil palm might be excluded by companies ‘cleaning’ their supply chains. Through our 25 years of technical experience, we know that true impact is created by acting both within supply chains and through supply chain collaboration, something we champion through our Agricultural Commodity Responsible Sourcing (ACRES) approach.”

Further information:

Proforest’s work in Policy and Regulation

Study: Challenges and opportunities for Brazilian exporters to comply with the EUDR

Report: EUDR compliance in the MERCOSUR beef chain