New EU and UK regulations on deforestation-free commodities – A lever for change in the cocoa sector in Ghana?

The document examines the potential for the EUDR and UK Environment Act to act as levers for change in Ghana's cocoa industry. It highlights that while these regulations impose strict deforestation-free and legality requirements, they offer Ghana opportunities to improve forest governance, establish a centralised traceability system, and better regulate child labour. However, the author warns of risks to smallholder farmers, who may face increased compliance costs or exclusion from the EU market, and emphasizes the need for international partnerships to support a just transition.

• The EUDR and UK Environment Act create significant pressure on Ghana's cocoa sector because the EU and UK are critical markets; in 2020, Ghana exported over 44% of its cocoa beans to the EU and 3.92% to the UK.
• The EUDR's 'deforestation-free' definition may conflict with Ghanaian law, as activities considered legal under national policy—such as farming on off-reserve areas demarcated for agricultural use—could still be classified as deforestation under the EUDR.
• The EUDR's country benchmarking system could provide an economic incentive for Ghana to improve forest governance to achieve a 'low-risk' rating, which would reduce compliance costs for operators and provide a competitive market advantage.
• There is a critical need for Ghana to implement a centralised national traceability system to meet EUDR geolocation requirements, as current private certification standards often fail to provide reliable data down to the farm level.
• The EUDR's 'substantiated concerns' mechanism allows third parties and civil society to report non-compliance to EU authorities, potentially acting as a watchdog for errant producers in Ghana.
• While the EUDR does not explicitly list child labour as a criterion, it covers 'labour rights and human rights protected under international law', which includes child labour; this provides an opportunity for Ghana to codify the currently voluntary Hazardous Activity Framework (HAF) into law.
• Smallholder farmers face a high risk of being excluded from the EU market or burdened by increased compliance and record-keeping costs, as EU operators have no legally binding obligation to support them in meeting the new requirements.
• Ghana's current legal framework for forests and land tenure is described as fragmented and complex, which complicates the due diligence process for European companies and increases the risk of incomplete legal analysis.

APA

Martey, D., Godts, R., Akapame, C. K., & Haywood, C. (2023). New EU and UK regulations on deforestation-free commodities – A lever for change in the cocoa sector in Ghana? ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/gv3n4gex/new-eu-and-uk-regulations-on-deforestation-free-commodities-a-lever-for-change-in-the-cocoa-sector-in-ghana.pdf

Chicago

Martey, Dennis, Raphaëlle Godts, Clement Kojo Akapame, and Caroline Haywood. New EU and UK regulations on deforestation-free commodities – A lever for change in the cocoa sector in Ghana? ClientEarth, 2023. https://www.clientearth.org/media/gv3n4gex/new-eu-and-uk-regulations-on-deforestation-free-commodities-a-lever-for-change-in-the-cocoa-sector-in-ghana.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Martey |first1=Dennis |last2=Godts |first2=Raphaëlle |last3=Akapame |first3=Clement Kojo |last4=Haywood |first4=Caroline |title=New EU and UK regulations on deforestation-free commodities – A lever for change in the cocoa sector in Ghana? |publisher=ClientEarth |date=July 2023 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/gv3n4gex/new-eu-and-uk-regulations-on-deforestation-free-commodities-a-lever-for-change-in-the-cocoa-sector-in-ghana.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{martey2023new, author = {Martey, Dennis and Godts, Raphaëlle and Akapame, Clement Kojo and Haywood, Caroline}, title = {{New EU and UK regulations on deforestation-free commodities – A lever for change in the cocoa sector in Ghana?}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/gv3n4gex/new-eu-and-uk-regulations-on-deforestation-free-commodities-a-lever-for-change-in-the-cocoa-sector-in-ghana.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }