Environmental activists have replaced toilet paper in the European Parliament with messaging to protest against deforestation.
The non-profit organisation Canopée was behind the stunt, which occurred at around 18:00 on Wednesday evening. The aim was to send direct messages to MEPs in protest at the delay of the deforestation law.
A ban on all products linked to deforestation since December 2020 was intended to be ratified at the end of this year. This includes coffee, cocoa, palm oil and timber, and importing companies would be required to provide tracing of all goods under the legislation.
Following objection from countries such as Brazil and Germany, the European Commission has proposed delaying these measures until 30 December 2025 for large companies and until 30 June 2026 for smaller enterprises. MEPs will vote on the amendment on 14 November.
"This European law, passed in 2022, was due to come into force on 30 December 2024, but under pressure from lobby groups, Parliament is considering delaying it by a year, or even amending the text, which would be highly problematic," Canopée stated.
'We have no more time'
Credit: Canopée / Etienne Begouen
The organisation also pasted stickers around the building and handed pamphlets out to parliamentary employees.
"Deforestation is accelerating and we have no more time," said campaign leader Klervi Le Guenic. "We need a legal framework that will enable us to aim for the COP26 target of zero deforestation by 2030."
The phenomenon has caused the loss of 420 million hectares of forests in the last 30 years. These landscapes make up 80% of the world's biodiversity and tropical forests store one quarter of global carbon, a vital energy and food source.
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Greenpeace has also released a statement denouncing the intention to delay the deforestation law. EU forest policy director Sebastien Risso hones in on the right-wing European People's Party's (EPP) role in blunting the regulation. The party has attempted to do the same to other environmental legislation such as the Nature Restoration Law.
"Changes to the EU deforestation law proposed on behalf of [the EPP] won’t simplify anything: they’ll only create confusion, chaos and forest destruction," said Rissi. "The frontrunner companies that have been preparing for this law since its adoption must be furious at this last-minute fiasco, which is entirely of the EPP’s making."
This article was updated at 15:20.
