UK supermarkets are urging the government to roll out deforestation legislation that had been promised at the 2021 Glasgow Cop26 summit.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, M&S, Aldi, Lidl and Co-op have written an open letter arranged by WWF to prime minister Rishi Sunak demanding that he keep products contributing to deforestation out of UK stores, The Independent reported.
The letter applauded the government’s actions of adopting the Environment Act in 2021, however described it “senseless” to allow products from illegal deforestation to continue reaching supermarket shelves.
It said: “Two years have since elapsed and we are still waiting on the government to follow up on its domestic commitments by laying the relevant secondary legislation and sharing guidance on how it will be enacted.
“While UK legislative progress has been delayed, 7.87 million hectares of primary forest has been lost in just the last two years.”
It added that “UK consumers want to see an end to such destruction.”
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It comes as the European Union adopted deforestation regulations applying to companies with operations or supply chains in Northern Ireland in June.
The letter said that by “aligning the cut-off date and data requirements of the UK legislation with the EU’s Deforestation Regulation will help further our collective ambition more efficiently whilst reducing cost.”
“Regulation is required and we will not succeed without your support.”
A Department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) spokesperson said that it is “committed to implementing these provisions at the earliest opportunity”.
