Publications & Insight

NGO Statements

The EU Renewable Energy Directive Recast

An opportunity to help meet climate and biodiversity objectives

28/05/2021

The UK wants to spearhead the fight to protect the world’s forests...

...but trade, environmental protection and  social justice don’t have to be mutually exclusive, says Chiara Vitali. 

The doubts about the climate crisis that Boris Johnson used to express in his newspaper columns are a thing of...

27/05/2021

Briefing Notes

Unsustainable and Ineffective: Why EU Forest Biomass Standards won't stop destruction

There has been intense criticism of the European Union (EU) Renewable Energy Directive (RED) for leading to adverse impacts on forests in Europe and beyond. To tackle these concerns, the EU developed sustainability criteria that...

19/05/2021

Press Releases

The International Energy Agency's Net Zero Plan threatened by the 'false climate solution' of bioenergy, say scientists and NGOs

The International Energy Agency (IEA) today published a new energy scenario. It models for the first time how the world can achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and limit global warming to 1.5ºC. A group of environmental and social NGOs campaigning to stop the EU burning forests for energy says this is a step forward; but they also criticise the IEA for relying heavily on bioenergy to meet climate goals and for failing to halt the use of land for energy production. Bioenergy is a false climate solution that adds emissions to the atmosphere, exacerbates biodiversity loss and negatively impacts food security.

17/05/2021

Briefing Notes

Putting the Environment in Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence

Ensuring corporate accountability for environmental impacts

in the upcoming EU directive on sustainable corporate governance

17/05/2021

NGO recommendations on the future EU Regulation to address the forest, ecosystem, and human rights impacts associated with products placed on the EU market

The European Commission has committed to publish, in June 2021, a legislative proposal to minimise the risk of deforestation and forest degradation associated with products placed on the European Union (EU) market. This briefing...

06/05/2021

Forest Watch 265 - May 2021

EU uses forests to reduce climate ambition as concerns grow about EU trade and deforestation links

04/05/2021

Forest governance

NGOs across the globe urge European Commission to uphold commitments to FLEGT

Forest rich countries have invested time, energy, and resources in cleaning up their forest sector and have achieved important successes. NGOs have joined forces to tell the European Commission that the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan is more important than ever.

04/05/2021

EU Trade Policy Day: people want a trade policy that tackles climate change

With significant adjustments, EU trade deals now being negotiated could help tackle climate change.

04/05/2021

Forests and climate in the EU: trading pollution reduction for forest ambition

A patchy agreement on land-use carbon removal in new EU climate targets reduces EU climate ambition.

04/05/2021