EU countries adopt law banning products which fuel deforestation

BRUSSELS (AP) — The 27 European Union countries have formally endorsed a law that should help the bloc reduce its contribution to global deforestation by regulating the trade in a series of harmful goods. Under the new legislation, traders exporting or making available palm oil, cattle, wood, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy in the region need to verify that the goods they sell have not led to deforestation and forest degradation anywhere in the world since 2021. According to the World Resource Institute, a forest area the size of 10 soccer pitches disappears in the world every minute and the EU says that without the new regulation it could be responsible for the loss of 248,000 hectares of deforestation per year.