Up to 80% of deforestation in the tropics is caused by land being cleared for the production of agricultural raw materials. The biggest import market for these forest risk commodities after China is the EU. Following on from the EU communication on ways to step up EU action to protect and restore the world’s forests, the European Parliament (EP) has drawn up a legislative initiative report (the Burkhardt Report) for an EU legal framework to halt and reverse EU-driven global deforestation. At the same time, the European Commission also announced that, for 2021, it would be presenting a legislative proposal aimed at minimising the risk of deforestation and forest degradation associated with products placed on the EU market. It is against this background that the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) invites representatives from the EU Member States and players from civil society and the private sector to engage in a discussion about the legislative initiative report of the EP through the lens of development policy.
Organiser: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development