24th November 2025
As an addendum to last weeks blogs about rainforest deforestation, a timely update about COP30 from Greenpeace.
Legislation exists in Europe and the UK which aims to reduce deforestation. The EU passed the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in June 2023, which requires companies to check and be able to confirm that their products (whether using raw materials such as beef, cocoa, palm oil, rubber etc or derivatives) do not contribute to deforestation. There has been resistance and its implementation has been delayed till December 2025 (and till June 2026 for small companies). UK companies that trade with the EU will perforce have to work within these same regulations. (1)
The UK has enacted the Environment Act 2021, which aims, amongst other things, to tackle deforestation in UK supply chains as set out in Schedule 17. However this is a much narrower piece of legislation in terms of both the protection it offers and in terms of the companies that will be required to take action. (1)
One area of concern is the welfare of small farmers in the poorer parts of the world where their farming practice still rely on deforestation. Small farmers may have insufficient capital resources to adopt climate and nature friendly practice and therefore may simply go out of business and have to resort to subsistence farming – or will resort to deception and continue to cut down trees. (2) Ideally funding to facilitate a fair transition should be forthcoming from our wealthier nations and business organisations.
- https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2025/02/spotlight-on-deforestation-regulations-in-uk-eu
- https://www.bond.org.uk/news/2025/10/leave-no-one-behind-smallholder-farmers-must-be-put-at-the-centre-of-tackling-deforestation-in-supply-chains/
The Green Tau 