浪花直播

Paula Bernasconi 

 鈥淎ccording to Global First Watch, emissions from tropical deforestation are equivalent to the annual emissions of 400 million cars and if tropical deforestation were a country, it would be the third biggest emitter globally, ranking just below the US and even higher than the whole European Union.鈥�

鈥淪ociety knows what needs to be done [to stop deforestation] and it has been done before in the past by Brazil, but what we see is a clear lack of political will.鈥�

鈥淏ig deforestation [events] are only possible to perform with high investment and also a certainty of impunity, so it鈥檚 clearly part of a business investment of capitalizing farmers, it鈥檚 not at all small farmers and indigenous people.鈥� 

鈥淭he best policy or commitment for any market or company. . . is zero deforestation, not zero illegal deforestation.鈥� 

鈥淏ecause of [a small concentration of farmers], retailers are threatening to boycott Brazilian products and some of the world鈥檚 biggest investment funds are on the verge of divesting from Brazil. If it happens it could intensify the current economic crisis and threaten jobs, aggravating the country鈥檚 inequality and poverty. So we need to act.鈥�

Andr茅 Vasconcelos 

鈥淥f all the [soy] exports from Brazil. . . to China, [the Matopiba region] accounted for 9 percent of the volume, but it corresponds [to] 80 percent of the deforestation risk. So the risk is highly concentrated in particular places.鈥�

鈥淚 wanted to highlight the importance of the consumer markets in this journey towards a more sustainable supply chain and for that we need a collaborative effort from consumer markets from the buyers together with the producing countries to address this complex problem.鈥�

鈥淭he concentration of the risk. . . actually provides an opportunity for the global markets, for the buyers, to start addressing this problem. . . So targeting action in these high-risk areas, engaging with the companies that are handling most of the commodities, we can then drive a huge impact.鈥�

Rick Jacobsen 

鈥淎s we鈥檝e seen, the EU, U.S., and China are major importers of agricultural commodities and products linked to deforestation. But, there are a lot of other countries involved as well. So we need to see leadership from these markets, but we also need to harness that towards鈥� global rules for legal and sustainable trade.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen that voluntary corporate policies and certifications schemes developed over the last decade have just simply not been enough by themselves to reduce deforestation and address human rights that may be associated with human rights abuses.鈥�

鈥淥ne thing that鈥檚 very important is traceability. Ensuring that companies know where they source is鈥� the prerequisite for any improvement in supply chains and sourcing. And the traceability information should be reported. Others need to know about that, and enforcement officials in particular need to know about that in order to prioritize and monitor the situation.鈥�

Kevin Stockert 

鈥淚n the 116th Congress, there is renewed interest in deforestation. Members and senators have taken notice of large companies like McDonalds and Unilever pledging to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains. However, several reports from the NGO community have shown that these companies have fallen behind on their pledges. Importantly, other governments like the EU and the UK are on the verge of acting.鈥�

鈥淐ongressman Blumenauer, my boss, is working with Senator Brian Schatz, who represents Hawaii, on a legislative approach. We鈥檙e noticing increased public awareness about the impacts of palm oil, beef, soy, and other commodities on habitat, indigenous land, and the climate. We鈥檙e also working to monitor the zero deforestation pledges of many companies. And we have a desire to buttress these efforts with legislation.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e concerned that goods produced in only deforested lands and imported into the United States create a market issue for U.S. commodities. . . Last year, our offices began work with the NGO community to understand the scope of this issue.鈥�

Giuliana Torta 

鈥淭he good news is that in the EU now environmental policies and the supply chains as well are at the center of attention. They are a top priority. They are very much part of the European Green Deal.鈥�

鈥淲e have been discussing deforestation since the Sixties. . . We have to do something. We have to pool resources and we have to try to collaborate in a way that delivers. And we [have to] find a solution to this incredibly complex problem.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 not a matter any more to say let鈥檚 leave it to the voluntary schemes and to the voluntary action of the corporations. In Europe, we see that a number of multinationals and corporations come to us, come to the lawmakers asking to level the playing field. So it鈥檚 not just a matter of the red tape imposed by a federal or a European entity. It鈥檚 something that is coming from people that are really very careful about what鈥檚 happening on the markets and they don鈥檛 want to have to spend money if it is not worth it.鈥�