Climate action requires forest action

This panel discussion is organized by Conservation International, with the support of Friends of Europe, on European consumption driving imported deforestation. Featuring keynote speaker Christiana Figueres,  Distinguished Fellow of Conservation International and Former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

15% of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by deforestation, and a lot of that deforestation is driven by consumption here in Europe.

The Paris Agreement reached at COP21 commits its signatories to “pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5º C”. To reach this target, we must ramp-up our efforts in all sectors. One sector is often overlooked: nature. Yet, forests could deliver more than 30% of the required mitigation.

The forests’ mitigation potential is widely ignored. Ongoing large-scale deforestation, forest degradation and conversion to agriculture still contribute to more than 15% of global GHG emissions. The European Union (EU) is the largest importer of deforestation embedded in goods such as palm oil from Indonesia or soy from Brazil. Thus, the EU has a key role to play in reducing global deforestation.

• How can the EU ensure that all imported agricultural products are free of deforestation, forest degradation and human right violations?
• Will the EU create policies and incentives that effectively encourage sustainable practices in producing countries?
• Which corporate and Member State actions can lead the way? Shall voluntary commitments become mandatory to create a level playing field?

IMAGE CREDIT: Conservation International