Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Fourth Report - The UK's contribution to tackling global deforestation
Environmental Audit Committee
HC 405
Published 4 January 2024
Recommendations
5
Deferred
Para 25
Continue to fund development of a monitoring, measurement and reporting framework for UK consumption.
Recommendation
To ensure that the UK can measure and track progress, we recommend that the Government should continue to fund the development of a monitoring, measurement and reporting framework for UK consumption.
Government Response Summary
The government did not commit to funding the development of a monitoring, measurement, and reporting framework for UK consumption, instead stating it is not currently considering widening the scope of Government Buying Standards (GBS) and detailing an ongoing consultation to update the GBS for food and catering.
6
Deferred
Para 26
Promote international and domestic data disclosure to improve monitoring of forest risks globally.
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government use its influence in all relevant forums to promote international data disclosure (and domestic disclosure of UK customs and industrial data) so as to improve the monitoring of forest risks in the UK and globally.
Government Response Summary
The government's response focuses on existing and reviewed Government Buying Standards for food and catering, including current requirements for palm oil and coffee, and future consideration of forest-risk commodities within these procurement standards, rather than addressing the recommendation to promote broader international and domestic data disclosure.
8
Deferred
Para 28
Develop UK consumption monitoring to incorporate mined products, addressing mining-related deforestation impacts.
Recommendation
We recommend that UK consumption monitoring be developed to incorporate the monitoring of mined products, so as to support the Government’s programmes addressing the impact of mining-related deforestation.
Government Response Summary
The government response outlines general processes for new regulations, including grace periods, reporting requirements, and exemptions for organisations, but does not specifically address the recommendation to develop UK consumption monitoring for mined products.
10
Deferred
Para 39
Mandate Government Buying Standards for all large public sector bodies and annual compliance reporting.
Recommendation
We recommend that each Government Buying Standard be made mandatory for all large public sector bodies, including the NHS, the Armed Forces and HM Prison Service, as it currently is for UK Government departments and their partner organisations. Annual reporting …
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Government Response Summary
The government deflects the recommendation regarding making Government Buying Standards mandatory and requiring annual compliance reporting for public sector bodies, instead detailing its existing and developing supply-side interventions and international funding programmes aimed at sustainable forest risk commodity supply chains.
17
Deferred
Para 77
Publish proposed regulations urgently and clear timetable for affirmative procedure legislation.
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government publish its proposed suite of regulations as a matter of urgency. Where regulations are to be subject to the affirmative procedure, Ministers must publish a clear timetable for drafts to be laid, approved by both …
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Government Response Summary
The government agreed with the committee regarding the IPLC Forest Tenure Pledge and detailed existing and new Official Development Assistance (ODA) programs to strengthen IPLC forest tenure rights and capacity, but did not commit to publishing regulations or a timetable for Schedule 17.
19
Deferred
Para 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 …
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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.
22
Deferred
Para 82
Include all material UK deforestation footprint commodities in due diligence legislation from the outset.
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government’s proposals for due diligence legislation should include from the outset all forest risk commodities associated with a material UK deforestation footprint (soy, palm oil, cocoa, maize, beef and leather, rubber and coffee) rather than taking …
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Government Response Summary
The government stated that Impact Assessments for new Free Trade Agreements have included environmental impact estimates and that research has been undertaken on assessing net gain in trade, but did not address the recommendation to include all forest-risk commodities in due diligence legislation from the outset or provide the requested evidential basis.
26
Deferred
Para 85
Address indigenous peoples' land rights support in statutory evaluation of due diligence system.
Recommendation
We recommend that the statutory evaluation of the Schedule 17 due diligence system address expressly whether the due diligence system has effectively supported the human rights of indigenous peoples to land, territories and resources.
Government Response Summary
The government states that statutory reviews of Schedule 17 will primarily focus on reducing deforestation but acknowledges the importance of indigenous peoples' role. It is currently exploring how to address the recommendation regarding human rights within the independent evaluation of the scheme.
29
Deferred
Para 94
Introduce legislation to bring UK financial sector businesses under the Schedule 17 regime.
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government bring forward legislation to bring businesses in the UK financial sector within the scope of the Schedule 17 regime.
Government Response Summary
The government will publish guidance on Schedule 17's application to the financial sector when secondary legislation is laid, and HM Treasury will conduct a review to assess the adequacy of current regulation and consider future changes to eliminate illegal deforestation financing.
Conclusions (7)
7
Conclusion
Deferred
Illegal mining is increasingly recognised as a driver of deforestation in some regions. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has indicated that its programmes addressing deforestation are to be expanded to cover a wider range of forest risk commodities, beyond timber, and will expressly include mining. We welcome this explicit …
Government Response Summary
The government's response focuses solely on existing United Kingdom Timber Regulations (UKTR) and FLEGT Regulations, and plans to review the Timber Regulations in 2024, completely omitting any mention of mining as a driver of deforestation, which was the focus of the committee's conclusion.
11
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 40
Sustainable government procurement presents a pathway to increasing the sustainability of supply chains. Government performance against existing sustainable procurement policies has been unimpressive to date. The 2020–21 Greening Government Commitments report indicated that ten departments had submitted information about their performance against the procurement commitment in that year. Given that …
Government Response Summary
The government response entirely diverts from the recommendation to require full and published reporting against Greening Government Commitments, instead detailing consultation feedback on the number of forest risk commodities for due diligence legislation and deforestation footprint statistics.
12
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 41
There is an opportunity to learn from the experience of timber and palm oil procurement, and to strengthen and extend these approaches.
Government Response Summary
The government response focuses on recognising and supporting the land rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) through due diligence legislation and FCDO programmes, rather than addressing the recommendation to learn from and extend approaches used in timber and palm oil procurement.
16
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 76
The Government’s consultation on proposals for Schedule 17 implementation ended in March 2022, but secondary legislation has not yet been brought forward and the Government has not yet committed to a date by which it can be expected. While we welcome the Secretary of State’s recent clarification of the initial …
Government Response Summary
The government detailed its commitment to invest at least £1.5 billion in UK International Climate Finance for forest protection and restoration by March 2026, and announced £576 million in new forests programming, but did not address the delay in bringing forward secondary legislation for Schedule 17.
18
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 78
The due diligence system established under Schedule 17 will prohibit the use of illegally produced commodities with reference to compliance with local laws. This means that products of legal deforestation will not be within the scope of the system, unlike comparable EU legislation. This is regrettable. Only 31% of deforestation …
Government Response Summary
The government stated the FCDO is developing a business case for a follow-on 10-year forest governance programme that will have a broader remit, looking beyond timber to illegal deforestation, but did not commit to amending Schedule 17 to include legal deforestation.
21
Conclusion
Deferred
A phased introduction of forest risk commodities misses the opportunity to set early and clear expectations that deforestation is not welcome in any UK supply chains. While the Government’s announcement that four major commodities will be brought within initial scope of the Schedule 17 regime is welcome, the failure to …
Government Response Summary
The government affirmed its commitment to upholding high environmental standards in trade agreements, its ambition to protect the environment, and its involvement in international initiatives like the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration and the FACT Dialogue, but did not address the recommendation to include more forest-risk commodities in Schedule 17 without a phased approach.
27
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 92
The UK financial sector is a direct and indirect contributor to financing deforestation. Financial institutions cannot meet their deforestation policies or their net zero commitments without also addressing their exposure to deforestation through the companies they finance.
Government Response Summary
The government states that guidance on applying the Schedule 17 regime to the financial sector will be published with secondary legislation, and HM Treasury will conduct a review to assess the adequacy of current regulations in eliminating illegal deforestation financing.