Canada Fingered for Prioritising Timber Economy over Environmental Goals
Following a leaked attempt to weaken the most stringent rules on deforestation-free commerce, the Canadian government has been accused of prioritizing its domestic timber business over the health of the planet.
Weeks before the Cop15 conference on biodiversity in Montreal, the host country wrote to the European Commission to request a review of “burdensome traceability rules” inside a proposed EU program that intends to eliminate wood products from the largest market in the world.
Ailish Campbell, the Canadian ambassador to the EU, also urged a reconsideration of proposals to include “degraded” forests among the regions deemed at risk and a “phased” approach that would slow down implementation.
Green MPs and environmental organizations said that Justin Trudeau’s government prioritized its paper, lumber, and wood products business over its international pledge to “stop and reverse” forest loss and land degradation by 2030 made at the Glasgow Climate Conference.
French MEP Marie Toussaint, one of the initiators of the new regulations was quoted as saying by The Guardian, “In this letter, you can perfectly see Canada wanted to protect its economic interests rather than the forest. For a country that is supposed to be in favour of conserving natural resources to say, ‘don’t go so fast’ is surprising, especially when they will be at the forefront of the biodiversity issue in Montreal in a couple of weeks.”
The proposed new regulations, which are in the last stages of negotiation this week between the European Commission, council, and parliament, according to Toussaint, the leader of the Green group in parliament, are intended to strengthen controls and checks on forest products entering the EU. Geolocation criteria would be part of this so that customers could identify the precise source of wood used for decking, furniture, or paper. The draft, in contrast to earlier regulations, also addresses legal, unsustainable methods in deforestation.
“It is an important step that shows the EU is serious about the 2030 target The EU can be proud. We are doing it in an ambitious way. This is long overdue. For decades, we’ve tried to rely on voluntary reporting and commitments, but we can see this hasn’t been working.”
The proposed law, according to the US-based environmental advocacy group Mighty Earth, may be a turning point for the preservation of forests because it would establish a new global standard. “This legislation might transform the game. Glenn Hurowitz, the organization’s founder and CEO, lamented Canada’s efforts to undo the one crucial piece of forest legislation that the world has seen in the last ten years.
