Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Deferred
Paragraph: 79
Prohibit UK businesses from trading or using commodities linked to UN FAO-defined deforestation, regardless of local legality.
Recommendation
We recommend that, in order to increase the sustainable use of forest-risk commodities, the Government should bring forward amendments to paragraph 2 of Schedule 17 to the Environment Act so as to prohibit UK businesses from trading or using commodities linked to deforestation activity as defined by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, whether or not the activity is permitted by local legislation.
Government Response Summary
The government stated the FLEGT Post Implementation Review (PIR) will be published shortly and shared, with further analysis of lessons learned to be conducted, but did not commit to amending Schedule 17 to prohibit commodities linked to deforestation regardless of local legality.
Paragraph Reference:
79
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The FLEGT Post Implementation Review (PIR) reflects on the experience of several VPA countries, with a particular focus on Indonesia, Ghana, Liberia and Guyana, including analysis of stakeholder views highlighting country-specific factors. The PIR provides clear conclusions on the effectiveness of FLEGT licensing and Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA), and recommendations for future work in this area. The PIR will be published shortly on gov.uk and will be widely accessible. Once published, the review will be shared with relevant teams in Defra and across Government. Further analysis of the lessons learned for policy makers will be conducted and disseminated in due course. For clarity, the EU has reaffirmed their commitment to VPA partnerships, which will continue to operate alongside their EU Deforestation Regulation, with FLEGT licensing being an accepted EU standard of legality.