Proposed Amendments to EU Deforestation Law Create Dangerous Loopholes and Uncertainty

A statement from the World Resources Institute (WRI) criticizing proposed amendments to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), arguing that they create loopholes, rely on outdated data, and introduce regulatory uncertainty.

• The World Resources Institute argues that the proposed amendments to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) undermine the goal of creating a deforestation-free consumer market and damage the European Union's climate leadership credibility.
• The introduction of a "no-risk" country category is identified as a major risk because it exempts companies from key due diligence and geospatial data requirements if products are sourced from countries with stable or increasing forest areas. This could allow commodities from high-risk countries to enter the EU market via these "no-risk" countries through misrepresentation of origin.
• The use of 1990 as a reference year for forest area assessments is criticized for failing to reflect current deforestation risks and degradation trends. WRI notes that comparing forest area between 1990 and 2020 can miss deforestation if forests are replanted with less biodiverse trees. For instance, while Vietnam reported a 56% increase in forest extent between 1990 and 2020, Global Forest Watch estimates over 1 million hectares of forest were lost to commodity-driven deforestation between 2001 and 2023.
• The proposed amendments contain unclear and contradictory language that creates uncertainty for investors, companies, and smallholder farmers. Specific concerns include a lack of clarity on who will verify the readiness of IT systems and how "no-risk" criteria align with the European Commission's country risk benchmarking methodology, which may lead to World Trade Organization non-discrimination disputes.

APA

van Veldhoven, S. (2024). Proposed Amendments to EU Deforestation Law Create Dangerous Loopholes and Uncertainty. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/news/statement-proposed-amendments-eu-deforestation-law-create-dangerous-loopholes-and-uncertainty

Chicago

van Veldhoven, Stientje. Proposed Amendments to EU Deforestation Law Create Dangerous Loopholes and Uncertainty. World Resources Institute, 2024. https://www.wri.org/news/statement-proposed-amendments-eu-deforestation-law-create-dangerous-loopholes-and-uncertainty.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=van Veldhoven |first1=Stientje |title=Proposed Amendments to EU Deforestation Law Create Dangerous Loopholes and Uncertainty |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=18 November 2024 |url=https://www.wri.org/news/statement-proposed-amendments-eu-deforestation-law-create-dangerous-loopholes-and-uncertainty |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{vanveldhoven2024proposed, author = {van Veldhoven, Stientje}, title = {{Proposed Amendments to EU Deforestation Law Create Dangerous Loopholes and Uncertainty}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://www.wri.org/news/statement-proposed-amendments-eu-deforestation-law-create-dangerous-loopholes-and-uncertainty}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }