The expansion of agricultural areas drives up to 90% of deforestation worldwide. This poses an imminent threat to our planet’s biodiversity, climate, and the well-being of communities worldwide.

In the context of the European Commission’s political priorities the promotion ‘deforestation free’ commodities trade, the Initiative on Deforestation-free Value Chains is a joint effort by the EU and its Member States designed to support global ambitions on decoupling agricultural production from deforestation in partnership with various stakeholders in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

They do this by supporting partner governments with creating enabling framework conditions for corporate action to minimise deforestation, reducing risks in complex value chains and crowding-in private sector investments in sustainable agribusinesses. This initiative also supports smallholders with forest preservation and assists Indigenous peoples and local communities with protecting their rights.

EU Deforestation Regulation

The European Union (EU) is an important market for agricultural commodities with a deforestation risk. EU citizens no longer want to contribute to deforestation through their consumption, instead they want to be part of sustainable and transformative change.

As a contribution to the European Green Deal, the EU has adopted in June 2023 the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) that aims to minimise its contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide, thereby contributing to a reduction in global deforestation.

The EU Deforestation Regulation is a milestone in the fight against deforestation and forest degradation. It focuses on the value chains of the seven commodities that have the biggest impact: palm oil, beef, soy, coffee, cocoa, natural rubber, and wood.

Under the EUDR, any operator or trader who places these commodities on the EU market, or exports from it, must be able to prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation. The law was scheduled to go into effect at the end of 2025 for large businesses and the end of June 2026 for smaller operations, but has been postponed for another year.

The Team Europe Initiative on Deforestation-free Value Chains is a joint effort by the EU and its Member States designed to support global ambitions on decoupling agricultural production from deforestation in partnership with various stakeholders in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Flagship projects foster the inclusive and just transition of sustainable value chains, especially for smallholders and low-income countries.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is supporting the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR):

• The high-resolution global forest maps (GFC2020) pinpoint deforested areas and different forest types (primary, natural, planted) to help identify where commodities originate and if they are linked to forest loss after the 2020 cut-off.
• The EU observatory provides information on supply chains, monitoring deforestation globally to help businesses and authorities.
• JRC gives technical support on defining and mapping forest degradation, ensuring interoperability with the EUDR Information System.
• Research papers from the JRC (e.g., on cocoa) model the economic and environmental effects of the regulation, including shifts in trade and potential leakage.

Cocoa Initiative

The EU launched the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative in 2020 to improve the sustainability of the cocoa supply chain in West African countries – the main producers of cocoa in the world.

One of the key pillars of the initiative is an inclusive multistakeholder dialogue, the “Cocoa Talks”, organised by the European Commission. These roundtables bring together key EU stakeholders, including representatives of Member States, the European Parliament, the cocoa and chocolate industry and civil society organisations, as well as representatives of producer countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon with a budget of 28 million euros.

More information on EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative.