Waldschutz law postponed again: threaten high CO2 emissions?

Waldschutz law postponed again: threaten high CO2 emissions?

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - On December 4, 2024, the European Parliament made a decision that strongly influenced both climate policy and global efforts to protect forest protection. The focus is on the controversial Dewatzungsordnung (Eudr), which was originally adopted in April 2023. This ordinance is intended to ensure that products that forests have been cut down do not get to the European market. Although the regulation is considered a fundamental step for the protection of the forests, the vote of mid -November caused considerable concerns about a one -year shift in the implementation period.

In this vote, the joy of giving up rough changes in the regulation was clouded. The European People's Party (EPP) tried to further deviate the law already decided by several amendments, but this was rejected by the Council of the European Union. Maria Hammer, spokeswoman for Südwind, emphasized that the shift is a missed chance of one year that results in the effects on CO2 emissions that correspond to those of 18 million cars. "The credibility of European climate protection efforts was badly damaged," warned Hammer and demanded a rapid implementation of legislation.

a year shift with consequences

The shift could have considerable difficulties for companies, especially in the confectionery industry and the newspaper industry. These industries complain that they lack the preparation time for the new regulations, since the EU Commission late issues additional guidelines. If the shift is actually implemented, the new legislation could only come into force on December 30, 2025 for large companies and on June 30, 2026 for small businesses, as Tagesschau In the future, companies will have to prove that no forests were cleared for their products after December 31, 2020, otherwise there are high penalties.

The vote was also overshadowed by technical problems, which resulted in consideration regarding the integrity of the voting process. Despite the difficulties, Parliament President Roberta Metsola decided not to repeat the vote. In view of these developments, the future of the deforestation regulation seems uncertain, on which hopes for more effective protection of the forests.