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2. Is the European Union Deforestation Regulation WTO-Proof?
- Author:
- Bruno Capuzzi
- Publication Date:
- 09-2024
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE)
- Abstract:
- The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is set to take effect on 30th December 2024. While it aligns with EU’s climate goals under the European Green Deal, it has sparked concerns with EU partners regarding its compatibility with World Trade Organization (WTO) principles. Internally, some member-States and productive sectors fear that the lack of clarity in its rules could disrupt European supply chains. Products like coffee, chocolate, and leather are some examples where costs and price are expected to rise due to compliance requirements, documentation, and shipment segregation. Critics argue that the EUDR’s unilateral imposition of EU standards on third countries could be viewed as extraterritorial and more restrictive than necessary towards its objectives. This paper analyses lessons from WTO reports on US Shrimp/Turtle and US Tuna/Dolphin, which are relevant to discussions on non-product-related processes and production methods (PPMs). Key findings suggest that the EUDR could be justified under GATT exceptions clause (Article XX). However, for this to be successful, the Policy Brief proposes more flexibility in considering local realities of exporting countries. This would include shifting the EUDR approach to cooperating towards an outcome-based equivalence systems instead of rigid procedural requirements.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, European Union, Trade, WTO, Deforestation, and Mercosur
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Latin America
3. The European Union Deforestation Regulation: The Impact on Argentina
- Author:
- Pablo de la Vega
- Publication Date:
- 06-2024
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- We analyze the potential economic impacts in Argentina of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which as of January 2025 will prohibit the export to the European Union of certain raw materials and related products if they involve the use of deforested land. A dynamic computable general equilibrium model is used to simulate the impact of such regulation on the Argentine economy. The results suggest that the potential macroeconomic impacts are limited. As a consequence of the EUDR, between 2025 and 2030, GDP would be reduced by an average of 0.46% with respect to the baseline scenario. However, of greater magnitude is the potential environmental impact. Deforested hectares would be reduced by 6.64% and polluting gas emissions by 0.39%.
- Topic:
- European Union, Regulation, Exports, Trade, and Deforestation
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Argentina, South America, and Latin America
4. Seeing the Forest for More than the Trees: A Policy Strategy to Curb Deforestation and Advance Shared Prosperity in the Colombian Amazon
- Author:
- Timothy Cheston, Patricio Goldstein, Timothy Freeman, Alejandro Rueda-Sanz, and Ricardo Hausmann
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Does economic prosperity in the Colombian Amazon require sacrificing the forest? This research compendium of a series of studies on the Colombian Amazon finds the answer to this question is no: the perceived trade-off between economic growth and forest protection is a false dichotomy. The drivers of deforestation and prosperity are distinct – as they happen in different places. Deforestation occurs at the agricultural frontier, in destroying some of the world’s most complex biodiversity by some of the least economically complex activities, particularly cattle-ranching. By contrast, the economic drivers in the Amazon are its urban areas often located far from the forest edge, including in non-forested piedmont regions. These cities offer greater economic complexity by accessing a wider range of productive capabilities in higher-income activities with little presence of those activities driving deforestation. Perhaps the most underappreciated facet of life in each of the three Amazonian regions studied, Caquetá, Guaviare, and Putumayo, is that the majority of people live in urban areas. This is a telling fact of economic geography: that even in the remote parts of the Amazon, people want to come together to live in densely populated areas. This corroborates the findings of our global research over the past two decades that prosperity results from expanding the productive capabilities available locally to diversify production to do more, and more complex, activities.
- Topic:
- Economic Growth, Deforestation, and Green Economy
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, South America, Latin America, and Amazon Basin
5. Technology Solutions for Supply Chain Traceability in the Brazilian Amazon: Opportunities for the Financial Sector
- Author:
- Brodie Ferguson, Julia Sekula, and Ilona Szabo de Carvalho
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- The Amazon is reaching a point that may be irreversible, in which its biome, and with it the global climate, will suffer irreparable damage, negatively impacting not only local communities, but also entire regions and industries. In this article, the Igarapé Institute analyzes challenges around illegal deforestation and recommends measures that, when supported and adopted by financial institutions, will have a rapid, effective and large-scale impact on the control of illegal deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. To this end, the article analyzes current practices in standards and benchmarking for soy farming, livestock and timber extraction. Although the financial sector has started the process of adopting policies against deforestation, few institutions make them mandatory for loan contracts or actively monitor them. This article also highlights some of the key technologies that support greater traceability of the supply chains needed to measure progress on ESG metrics. Remote sensing, big data and artificial intelligence now offer unprecedented ability to track specific environmental impacts of properties, licenses and concessions.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, Science and Technology, Finance, Data, Supply Chains, and Deforestation
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Latin America, and Amazon Basin
6. Environmental Crime in the Amazon Basin: A Typology for Research, Policy and Action
- Author:
- Adriana Abdenur, Brodie Ferguson, Ilona Szabo de Carvalho, Melina Risso, and Robert Muggah
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- According to the world’s top scientific experts, deforestation and degradation are up 25 percent in the first six months compared to last year. More forests are being cleared in 2020 than at any point in the past 15 years. Although spectacular levels of illegal burning have occupied global headlines, a host of other less visible but equally significant environmental crimes are being committed throughout the Amazon basin every day. Such crimes not only impact biodiversity and the global climate, but are virtually always associated with social ills ranging from corruption to slavery and violence. A new paper from the Igarape Institute – Environmental Crime in the Amazon Basin: a Typology for Research, Policy and Action – introduces a typology to help better understand the scope and scale of the problem and its extensive social and environmental impacts. To date, one of the principal barriers to better policing of the Amazon is the confusion and ambiguity of what is, and is not, a crime. Different countries apply different interpretations which can frustrate investigations and the enforcement of existing laws. The new paper is designed to provide greater clarity to policy makers, law enforcement agencies, civil society actors, and companies committed to curbing environmental crime.
- Topic:
- Crime, Environment, Public Policy, Ecology, and Deforestation
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Latin America, and Amazon Basin