Feature

Trase welcomes new report from UK Committee on deforestation policy

The Environmental Audit Committee in the UK Parliament has carried out a thorough review of how the United Kingdom contributes to global deforestation through the consumption of agricultural commodities.

Ylva Rylander / Published on 8 January 2024

The Palace of Westminster. — The Palace of Westminster, London, United Kingdom.

Photo: Victor Cardoner / Getty Images.

The Committee shows clear recognition of the urgency of the situation, highlighting Trase research that shows that the UK’s deforestation impact per tonne of product consumption exceeds that of China.

We are pleased to have provided evidence to the Committee and strongly welcome its new report. The Committee shows clear recognition of the urgency of tackling the UK's overseas deforestation footprint, and offers critical recommendations to the UK government.

Chris West, SEI Deputy Centre Director for Research at the University of York and spokesperson for Trase.

The report makes extensive use of the Global Environmental Impacts of Consumption Indicator and offers important recommendations to the UK Government to effectively tackle these footprints, including recommendations on Schedule 17 of the UK Environment Act 2021.

“MPs have been warned that the UK’s consumption of products including palm oil, cocoa and beef are putting enormous pressure on forests around the world,” reports Sky News.

Alex Reid, Senior Global Policy Adviser on deforestation and finance, said to Sky News:

This is a 'wake-up call' for the UK government to take action on deforestation.

Alex Reid

Recommendations

Publish the proposed secondary regulations without delay and lay out a clear timetable for the passage of any measures through the Parliament.
Strengthen the prohibition to cover the use of commodities linked to any deforestation, not just illegal deforestation.
Include all commodities which have a material UK deforestation footprint from the outset – going beyond palm, soy, cocoa and cattle products (as announced in December 2023) to include maize, rubber and coffee.
Ensure that the due diligence system gives attention to land use and land ownership laws, including customary tenure rights.
Bring businesses in the UK financial sector within the scope of the legislation.

The EAC also makes a powerful call for the United Kingdom to show continued global leadership, for instance by continuing to fund development of a framework for monitoring, measuring and reporting on the impacts of UK consumption; by mandating the disclosure of nature-related impacts by businesses; and by bringing transparency to the intended £1.5bn of funding intended to tackle deforestation. The report charts a clear way forward; it is now time for the government to act.

The remit of the EAC is to examine how UK’s government departments’ policies and programmes will affect both the environment and sustainable development.