EU proposes soft delay of anti-deforestation law & more exemptions for rich nations

The European Union has dropped plans for another one-year delay to its anti-deforestation law, instead proposing a six-month grace period before enforcement begins. The proposal also introduces simplification measures and exemptions that favor EU nation states, the U.S., Canada, Australia and China. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), approved in 2023, sets out to ensure commodities including coffee, soy, beef, cocoa and palm oil imported to the bloc do not come from land deforested after Dec. 31, 2020. The EUDR is set to apply from Dec. 30, 2025. Citing concerns over too much paperwork and the capacity of the EU’s IT system, the EU environment commissioner, Jessika Roswall, announced a “gradual phase in” to the law. EU authorities will only begin checks and enforcement of the law on June 30, 2026, giving companies an additional six months to adapt. In 2024, the EUDR’s implementation was delayed by 12 months, and last month, another postponement was discussed. With the latest proposed amendment, the date of enforcement remains unchanged. “Having the law apply now with a grace period seems a sensible thing to do,” Nicole Polsterer, policy specialist at the environmental NGO FERN, told Mongabay by email. For countries currently classified as “low risk” under the EUDR — all EU nations, the U.S., China, Australia and Canada — micro and small producers who sell directly to the EU would be exempt from the EUDR’s regulations under the proposal. They will only be required to submit a one-time declaration to the EU providing the…This article was originally published on Mongabay