Protecting forests or saving trees? The EU's regulatory approach to global deforestation

Abstract

Given the poor problem-solving effectiveness of international environmental law and a decline in multilateralism, unilateral approaches to halting deforestation globally have acquired increasing significance. Within this context, the European Union (EU) has adopted the EU Timber Regulation and the first and second Renewable Energy Directive, all of which have extraterritorial implications. Given continuing high rates of defor-estation, the European Union has also been assessing which mix of instruments might prove more effective in preventing global deforestation. This article contextualizes these regulatory endeavours, analyses the specific interactions and features of existing instruments under EU law, such as due diligence obligations, sustainability criteria, certification schemes and bilateral agreements, and discusses the challenges arising from World Trade Organization (WTO) law regarding potentially more effective mandatory instruments. It finds that while the existing framework contains promising pathways for future regulation, designing sustainability criteria that are technically meaningful and also feasible from the perspective of WTO law requires greater policy coherence.