Time for the European Union to act to address deforestation and child labour in the cocoa sector

The document argues that voluntary industry commitments have failed to stop deforestation and child labour in the cocoa sector, calling for the EU to regulate agricultural commodity imports.

• Global Forest Watch satellite data for 2018 shows that primary forest loss reached 3.6 million hectares, with the most dramatic increases occurring in Ghana (60%) and Côte d’Ivoire (26%).
• Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire produce approximately 60% of the global cocoa supply, and cocoa is a primary driver of deforestation in these nations, including illegal clearing in protected areas; approximately 30% of Ivorian cocoa is grown in illegally cleared national parks.
• Child labour is increasing in the West African cocoa sector, with nearly 2 million children working in the industry as of 2018.
• Voluntary industry efforts to eliminate child labour have been insufficient; the 2018 Cocoa Barometer found that no company or government had reached sector-wide objectives or their own 70% reduction targets for 2020.
• The European Union is the world's largest importer, processor, and consumer of cocoa, accounting for 60% of global bean imports, with the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium importing nearly half of the global trade.

APA

Jones, S. (2019). Time for the European Union to act to address deforestation and child labour in the cocoa sector. Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/time-for-the-european-union-to-act-to-address-deforestation-and-child-labour-in-the-cocoa-sector/

Chicago

Jones, Sydney. Time for the European Union to act to address deforestation and child labour in the cocoa sector. Mighty Earth, 2019. https://mightyearth.org/article/time-for-the-european-union-to-act-to-address-deforestation-and-child-labour-in-the-cocoa-sector/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Jones |first1=Sydney |title=Time for the European Union to act to address deforestation and child labour in the cocoa sector |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=31 May 2019 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/time-for-the-european-union-to-act-to-address-deforestation-and-child-labour-in-the-cocoa-sector/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{jones2019time, author = {Jones, Sydney}, title = {{Time for the European Union to act to address deforestation and child labour in the cocoa sector}}, publisher = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2019}, month = may, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/time-for-the-european-union-to-act-to-address-deforestation-and-child-labour-in-the-cocoa-sector/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }