The European Union’s green agenda leads discussion for LIF’s first forum
The Land Innovation Fund to inaugurate its online forum with articles generating exchange about the European Union’s pending anti-deforestation bill.
In December 2022, the European Union preliminarily approved a bill that prohibits the sale of agricultural commodities produced in areas deforested after December 31st, 2020. If approved in its final version, the new legislation will require producers and companies to disclose the origin and ensure the compliance of agricultural products such as soy, beef, and palm oil that enter and leave the European market. The bill encourages the Land Innovation Fund to engage various actors in the agricultural sector in discussions about sensitive issues and promote innovation for environmentally safe practices on farms.
The European Union’s new legislation will be the opening agenda item for the LIF Forum, an online space for actors in the climate, environment, and agriculture sectors to discuss pressing issues related to the Fund’s mandate. The first forum will encompass invited partner institutions’ reflections on the bill’s impacts, challenges, and opportunities. Starting in April, the forum’s articles will be published weekly on the LIF website and will open to feedback on LIF’s social networks.
According to LIF director Carlos Quintela, "The LIF Forum’s opening theme was chosen due to its relevance to the LIF mandate. As the new legislation reaffirms the importance of sustainable agriculture, it is in line with international climate and environmental agendas that drive our projects and initiatives". He added, “We want to encourage an exchange of ideas, and create conditions to produce food in environmentally conscious ways”.
Sources: 1) CNA Brasil; 2) European Parliament; 3) European Parliament; 4) European Parliament; 5) Dutch Government; 6) Dutch Government; 7) Dutch Government; 8) Dutch Government; 9) Dutch Government
GREEN AGENDA:
If the bill is fully adopted, producers and exporters of various commodities will have to adhere specific regulations for their products to be sold in the European market. Among the requirements are the guarantee of a product's traceability from field to table, and the deforestation free origin of any crop cultivated after December 31, 2020. These conditions will be necessary for both exports leaving the European Union and for imports into the bloc from any country in the world.
The regulation will increase the demand for innovative solutions including monitoring systems that interoperate with multiple databases and environmental service payment tools to consolidate the carbon market, which both work towards sustainable and climate-smart agricultural practices.
The environmental agenda that the bill promotes opens opportunities for green business development. This in turn can enable greater synergy between environmental conservation and agricultural production. LIF’s legal advisor Matheus Almeida says, "I foresee improvements in due diligence processes, a core requirement under European law. This may also help identify socio-environmental bottlenecks in market chains for rural products and enhance the transparency of product origin”.
The law outlines different due diligence rules for exporter companies based on their size. Smaller companies (micro and small) will have 24 months from the law’s publication date to adjust to its requirements, while larger companies will have 18 months to implement necessary changes. Suppliers who do not comply with the legislation will be subject to fines and trade embargoes.
Various players in agricultural production will need to collaborate in order for the bill’s regulations to be adhered to. Carlos E. Quintela explains, “We see here a fundamental role for the Land Innovation Fund in fostering the creation of an innovation landscape for sustainability that enables the development of technological, governmental and financial solutions favorable to deforestation- and conversion-free agriculture”.
The new regulation extends only to production in forest areas and thus excludes production in plains and savannas that make up Brazil’s Cerrado biome. However, plans are already in place to revise and expand the text of the regulation, both to cover other raw materials and to include other types of ecosystems.
In addition, the new regulation already stipulates that production must comply with the laws of the country of origin. Matheus Almeida reveals "It is important to stress that a possible solution to minimize the impact of this European legislation is to strengthen enforcement of our own laws. In Brazil, for example, this includes compliance with the Forest Code and payment for environmental services”.
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