Ensuring a Green EU Recovery Plan for the Tire, Rubber, and Auto Industries

Mighty Earth calls on the European Commission to ensure that EU recovery funds for the transport and rubber industries are conditional on commitments to net zero carbon neutrality, zero deforestation, and the protection of human rights and Indigenous land tenure.

• The rubber industry caused significant environmental damage between 2003 and 2014, destroying 75,000 square kilometers of tropical forest and producing an estimated 3.75 gigatons of pollution, a volume comparable to Europe's annual production.
• Land-grabbing is prevalent in the rubber sector, with some companies utilizing Covid-19 lockdowns to seize land. For instance, Vietnam-based HAGL, which is largely invested in by THACO (an assembler for Peugeot, Mazda, and Kia), destroyed forests on two sacred mountains in Ratanakiri, Cambodia, that were intended for return to Indigenous peoples.
• Mighty Earth proposes that EU recovery funds be contingent on companies committing to the Paris Agreement and achieving net zero carbon neutrality by 2025, with specific requirements for airlines to shift to sustainable aviation fuels and for auto companies to transition to electric vehicles made from low carbon materials.
• The organization demands that tire, rubber, and auto companies seeking aid implement 'Zero Deforestation' and 'Fire-free' sourcing policies for natural rubber, alongside transparency and traceability in supply chains to align with the EU's deforestation action plan.
• Recovery support should be tied to human rights protections, including adherence to ILO Core Conventions regarding forced and child labor, the provision of a living wage, and the respect for customary land tenure rights of Indigenous and local communities.

APA

Jones, S. (2020). Ensuring a Green EU Recovery Plan for the Tire, Rubber, and Auto Industries. Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/ensuring-a-green-eu-recovery-plan-for-the-tire-rubber-and-auto-industries/

Chicago

Jones, Sydney. Ensuring a Green EU Recovery Plan for the Tire, Rubber, and Auto Industries. Mighty Earth, 2020. https://mightyearth.org/article/ensuring-a-green-eu-recovery-plan-for-the-tire-rubber-and-auto-industries/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Jones |first1=Sydney |title=Ensuring a Green EU Recovery Plan for the Tire, Rubber, and Auto Industries |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=26 June 2020 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/ensuring-a-green-eu-recovery-plan-for-the-tire-rubber-and-auto-industries/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{jones2020ensuring, author = {Jones, Sydney}, title = {{Ensuring a Green EU Recovery Plan for the Tire, Rubber, and Auto Industries}}, publisher = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/ensuring-a-green-eu-recovery-plan-for-the-tire-rubber-and-auto-industries/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }