Updated with comment from the Australian govt. from par. 22

The Australian government has asked the EU to delay regulation that would prevent commodities linked to deforestation from being imported into the bloc.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt told a beef farming convention earlier this week he had written to the EU Commissioner for the Environment “outlining Australia’s concerns with the potential impact of this regulation on trade with the EU”.

“There is understandably very real concern about what that will mean for Australian businesses that are either already exporting to Europe, or want to have the opportunity to do so in the future. The Australian government’s strong view is that it won’t, and should not, impact Australian beef exports,” he said.

“I have requested that the EU Commissioner delay its implementation until all requirements are fully understood and to avoid any adverse impact on our agriculture trade.”

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was implemented last June and compliance comes into effect on Dec. 30 this year.

It is designed to limit the EU’s impact on global deforestation and forest degradation, as well as to promote deforestation-free supply chains, reduce GHG emissions, and protection on human rights.

Despite requesting the delay, Watt said the EUDR was an indication of the “overall mood” playing out across the world regarding greater sustainability.

Australian industry estimates the country’s annual beef exports to the EU total around A$136 mln.

It is not alone in asking for compliance to the law to be delayed. Earlier this week, a consortium of eight US wood-related trade groups singed a letter urging the European Commission to push back the mandatory compliance deadline to the EUDR by 24 months.

“An additional 24 months will provide the time necessary for both regulators and producers to understand, evaluate, and prepare for substantial, sector-wide changes required to comply with the law,” the letter said.

Watt said the government was developing an Australian Beef Sustainability Framework, and that there was “broad alignment between the goals that the industry has set for itself and where the government is heading”.

However, reports from Australian environmental groups have found that beef farming expansion in Queensland is one of the leading causes of large-scale deforestation in Australia.

The country is the only developed nation to be declared a deforestation hotspot, concentrated primarily around New South Wales and Queensland.

The government, industry, and environmental groups have said the current environmental protection laws are broken and not fit for purpose, with the Labor party currently working towards reforming it.

However, documents obtained by the Wilderness Society via freedom of information show the government attempting to convince the EU that Australia should be treated as a low-risk jurisdiction for deforestation, thanks to its “robust domestic legislation”.

“Australia has a robust and comprehensive range of legislation that supports the protection and sustainable use of our forests and the environment, as well as labour and indigenous land rights, with strong compliance and enforcement related activities to further ensure adherence,” said a submission from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry on Australia’s Forest Status.

The Wilderness Society said in a statement that the Albanese government needed to curtail its “out-of-date deforestation practices instead of concealing and enabling the deforestation crisis that is unfolding right now”.

“The Australian government is telling the world Australia is a global leader on environment issues, all while asking for delays and exemptions to the EU’s flagship deforestation regulation,” Wilderness Society Corporate Campaigner Adele Chasson said.

“At the same time, they are undertaking a tumultuous environment reform process to, at least in part, tackle a serious and admitted deforestation problem.”

Environmental groups have previously called for a “land-clearing trigger” so that any plans to clear significant tracts of land are assessed at the federal level.

“Taking action on deforestation is urgent and possible to solidify access to foreign markets, and both governments and industries have a role to play in protecting vulnerable forests and wildlife,” Chasson said.

Later, an Australian government spokesperson told Carbon Pulse that the administration is “concerned the EUDR is unclear in its meaning and application and is not the least trade restrictive way to achieve this objective”.

“The lack of regulatory clarity concerning geolocation data usage, data privacy aspects, and land use classifications combined with the slow development of underpinning IT systems and insufficient preparedness among member state competent authorities, risks creating disruption to trade,” the spokesperson said.

“The EU’s commercial trading partners have little more than six months to develop systems to respond to the EUDR, with no certainty such systems will be accepted, creating significant regulatory, legal, and financial risk for agricultural exporters and potential supply chain impacts for Europe.”

The spokesperson added that there is also growing domestic pressure from a number of EU member states to delay the implementation of the regulation due to the lack of regulatory clarity and insufficient preparedness.

On the government’s argument to be treated as a low-risk jurisdiction, the spokesperson pointed to Australia’s Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012, the Regional Forestry Agreements, State and Territory vegetation management legislation, the EPBC Act, the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, the Native Title Act 1993 and Modern Slavery Act 2018, as examples of domestic legislation to halt deforestation.

“Australia has advised the EU of the range of legislation we have in place to support the protection and sustainable use of our forests and environment – along with the other legislative requirements of the EUDR,” the spokesperson said.

The government will soon introduce legislation to establish national environmental protection and data gathering bodies, but is still consulting on laws underpinning them, with no clear timeline on when they will be finalised.

By Mark Tilly – mark@carbon-pulse.com

*** Click here to sign up to our twice-weekly biodiversity newsletter ***