Steve Barclay (Conservative)

Deforestation is now the second leading cause of climate change globally, after burning fossil fuels, and is responsible for around 11% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Forests host around 80% of the world’s wildlife on land and are home to many species found nowhere else. In the last 60 years, more than half of tropical forests worldwide have been destroyed, reducing biodiversity and endangering beloved and crucial species like orangutans and other great apes, tigers, leopards, and jaguars.

This is why, as world leaders gather at COP28 for the next round of climate negotiations, we are confirming how UK law will work to prevent the use of forest risk commodities derived from illegally deforested land in UK supply chains.

In 2021 this Government introduced new legislation in the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. This is a flagship measure to deliver on the commitment made by the UK and over 140 other countries at COP26 in Glasgow to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.

Protecting biodiversity is a global priority and all nations have a part to play. This law shows the UK delivering on our commitments by ensuring that there is no place on our supermarket shelves for key commodities that have been grown on land that is illegally used or occupied, tackling climate change and helping to protect so many beloved endangered species.

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