The world’s forests – the lungs of the planet – are being put under “enormous pressure” by the UK’s appetite for commodities like soy, cocoa, palm oil, beef, and leather, MPs have warned.
The intensity of the country’s consumption, when measured by its footprint per tonne of product consumed, is higher than that of China, according to the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) report.
This should “serve as a wake-up call to the government”, said EAC chair Philip Dunne, who added that the UK’s use is having an “unsustainable impact on the planet”.
The committee has now released a 66-page report on Britain’s contribution to tackling global deforestation, which is the clearing or cutting down of forests, as it made a series of recommendations.
It comes after ministers announced that four commodities – cattle products (excluding dairy), cocoa, palm oil, and soy – will have to be certified as “sustainable” if they are to be sold into UK markets.
The government, which plans to gradually include more products over time, has not yet said when the legislation will be introduced.
And the committee said it is concerned that the phased approach and lack of a timeline does not reflect the necessity of tackling deforestation urgently.
The report said: “The failure to include commodities such as maize, rubber, and coffee within this scope does not demonstrate the level of urgency required to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.”
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Destruction of the Amazon rainforest
The EAC called on the government to address these gaps and strengthen the existing legislative framework so businesses are banned from trading or using commodities linked to deforestation.
The committee also said: “Forests host 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people, and provide vital ecosystem services to support local and global economies.
“Deforestation threatens irreplaceable biodiverse habitats and contributes 11% of global carbon emissions.”
It urged ministers to create a global footprint indicator so the public can see the UK’s deforestation impact and a target can be set to cut it.
The committee said there are concerns over how planned investments in nature and climate programs – including £1.5bn earmarked for deforestation – will be spent and called for more clarity from ministers.
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