BRUSSELS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A majority of European Union (EU) legislators have backed the postponement of a new law banning imports of products linked to deforestation into the European Union in light of concerns from trade partners and member states.
During a vote in the European Parliament on Thursday, 371 members supported a one-year delay in the implementation of the law, while 240 voted against, and 30 abstained. The majority of votes in favor came from far-right and center-right political groups.
The regulation, which was due to take effect on Dec. 30 this year, aims to ensure that cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood products sold in Europe do not contribute to deforestation in areas from the Amazon to Southeast Asia.
However, in response to concerns raised by EU and non-EU countries and industry players that they would not be able to fully comply with the rules if applied at the end of 2024, the European Commission proposed delaying implementation until Dec. 2025 for large traders, and mid-2026 for micro- and small enterprises.
The law is part of the EU's "Green Deal" environmental package to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, but it has received strong opposition from trade partners including the United States, Brazil, Malaysia, and Indonesia, whose exports of commodities could be seriously affected by the legislation.
However, environmental groups said Thursday's vote gave a terrible signal on the climate agenda of the new European Parliament to world leaders meeting in Azerbaijan this week for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29).
The World Wide Fund for Nature said the vote could "enable further forest destruction both within and outside of Europe."
During Thursday's vote, the European Parliament also approved some regulation amendments. One such amendment introduces a "no-risk" category for certain countries, in addition to the existing three categories of "low", "standard" and "high" risk. Countries classified as "no risk" are those defined as having stable or increasing forest area development, and would face significantly less stringent requirements.
Interinstitutional negotiations will now be held on the changes to the regulation, and the agreed text will have to be endorsed by both Council and Parliament and published in the EU Official Journal.
