Verfassungsblog (Aug 2023)
Out of the Woods?
Abstract
Large-scale deforestation not only accelerates climate change and biodiversity loss, it is also a serious threat to human rights. While the EU has pursued strategies to combat illegal logging since the early 2000s, it has mostly turned a blind eye to the adverse human rights effects of deforestation. The new EU Regulation on Deforestation (EUDR) acknowledges that human rights and the protection of forests are inextricably linked, but is this really a “major step for ‘deforestation-free’ trade”? This post provides a brief introduction to the EUDR, its most salient features, and critically, its weak points.
