Activities of Miapetra KUMPULA-NATRI related to 2020/2006(INL)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION with recommendations to the Commission on an EU legal framework to halt and reverse EU-driven global deforestation
Amendments (18)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. notes that preservation of forests is onand preventing the degradation of forests are some of the biggest sustainability challenges of our times, without which the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Green Deal cannot be achieved; stresses that the sustainable use of forests cannot be ensured with current policies;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. notes that the EU is an important importer of forest and ecosystem-risk commodities (FERC) and that the EU has a responsibility to do more to reduce the negative impacts of these imports;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. notes that agricultural expansion accounts for an estimated 80 % of global deforestation and has its roots in the demand for FERCs such as palm oil, soy, meat, leather, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and maize;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. notes that with the exception of the products covered by the EU Timber regulation, there is currently no EU legislation in force that requires economic operators placing FERCs into the EU market to follow due diligence procedures to mitigate the risk of deforestation;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. welcomes the good results the cooperation with third countries under the EU FLEGT Action Plan and Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) have shown in addressing the supply-side challenge of illegal logging and stresses that this work should be stepped up, also in terms of offering capacity building; is of the opinion that the VPA model can be extended to cover new FERCs;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. acknowledges the importance of the EU Timber Regulation in preventing the entry of illegally harvested timber to the EU markets; notes that its implementation and enforcement have not been satisfactory;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas according to Union legislation woody raw material should emanate only from forests that are harvested in accordance with the principles of sustainable forest management that are developed under international forest processes such as Forest Europe; whereas that sustainable forest management can have a significant impact on prevention of deforestation and has a positive impact on the health and diversity of forests; whereas healthy and multifunctional forests are essential to contribute to policy objectives of the Union;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. welcomes the Commission’s upcoming fitness check of the FLEGT Regulation and the EU Timber Regulation as an opportunity to strengthen their enforcement and to widen their scope to cover e.g. printed products and wooden products; calls on the role of civil society, as a crucial source of information on deforestation, to be strengthened; calls on the EU to increase funding for FLEGT;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. stresses the importance of ensuring that such measures do not cause unnecessary friction in the relations between the EU and its trading partners; stresses the importance of taking into account the effects of the measures on employment and growth of least developed countries (LDCs) that are reliant on the production of FERCs; calls on the EU to support and cooperate with third country governments and civil society in their work against deforestation, particularly via the GSP+ scheme; calls on the Commission to evaluate whether a new specific aid for trade instrument should be developed to facilitate trade in the context of mitigating the risks related to the production of FERCs;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. urges the Commission to submit a legislative proposal to introduce a due diligence obligation on operators placing forest and ecosystem-risk commodities and products on the internal market to ensure that such commodities and products do not cause deforestation, forest degradation, and the conversion or degradation of natural ecosystems or related human rights violations; a similar due diligence obligation should apply to the financial sector; the due diligence obligations should apply to the whole supply chain and cover OECD guidelines on social responsibility and human rights in trade; an access to justice and grievance mechanisms for the victims should be an important component of this legislation;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. recommendquires that all new trade agreements include provisionsbinding and enforceable provisions, as well as co- operation mechanisms, on the conservation and sustainable management of forests and the obligation to ensure multilateral environmental agreements, such as the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity, are implemented effectively; recommends that the EU promotes voluntary sustainable forest management certification as a tool for verifying sustainability;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. notes that the sustainable development rules of EU free trade agreements (FTAs), and their enforcement, can support the new measures; calls on the EU to strengthen the enforcement of the environmental and climate rules of FTAs; welcomes the proposal to this end by the Commission in the European Green Deal to make the Paris agreement an essential element of future FTAs and its proposal to do so in the case of the EU-UK agreement; calls on the Commission to develop tools to monitor the carbon footprint of imports; calls on the EU to include a “hierarchy clause” in the Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters of future FTAs, whereby the stipulations of the international agreements regarding climate, environment, human and labour rights, to which the parties adhere to, would take precedence over other stipulations of the agreement; calls on the EU to include such provisions in future FTAs that would allow the EU to organise inspections and verifications in cases of suspected non-compliance with provisions laid down in the TSD chapter and, as a last resort, to make it possible to gradually withdraw trade preferences in cases of non-compliance with these provisions;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Commission to propose a definition of 'deforestation free zone' in order to increase the transparency of supply chains, minimise the risk of deforestation for industry and consumers, and make it possible for industry and consumers to play their part in creating deforestation-free supply chains;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Stresses the essential need to improve mechanisms, which would help to identify the source or origin of wood material that has been obtained, in order to make sure that it does not originate from deforestation-free zones;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls on the Commission to regularly update evidence on zones threatened with deforestation both in the Union as well as in third countries, in order to provide timely information to consumers and industry; encourages to that end, the Commission to establish a proper labelling system to be used by both Union and third country wood suppliers;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Encourages the Commission to strengthen the EU FLEGT Action Plan, with a focus on Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) as crucial bilateral trade agreements with third countries, and incorporate it into the new European Forest Strategy to encourage third countries to abandon deforestation policies;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Underlines the contribution of non-governmental organisations, environmental activists, industry associations, as well as whistleblowers, to the fight against illegal timber harvesting that results in deforestation, loss of biodiversity and increased emissions of greenhouse gases;.
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5f. Requests the Commission to increase cooperation with all stakeholders, both in the public and private sector, with a view to ensuring that they are committed to the principle of responsible management of forests, responsible sourcing practices and sustainable production.