5 Years After "Bold" Corporate Pledges, Destruction Of The Amazon Only Accelerating
Five years after joining in a historic commitment to stop cutting the world's forests, governments and companies are not only failing to slow deforestation, they are rapidly driving the disappearance of more trees. As fires consume Amazonian forests, stoking global concern about the loss of a vital ecosystem and climate regulator, a new report published Thursday finds that forests continue to be cleared at an alarming rate, driven mostly by agricultural expansion and demand for beef, palm oil and soy.
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Earlier this month, the Coller FAIRR Index analyzed the sustainability performance of the world's largest meat and dairy companies and found that none of the top 50 companies had comprehensive policies to stop deforestation in areas where they buy cattle and soy. Walmart has said it aims to reach net-zero deforestation by 2020, but the index shows that some of its suppliers have no policies on deforestation.
Some of the groups involved in Thursday's report, however, say that singling out companies or commodities won't solve the problem. Neither will boycotts on products linked to deforestation. (Retailers and manufacturers, including H&M and Timberland, have said they would not use leather from Brazil, for example.)
"If we close trade, it can be an even worse situation," said Fernando Guedes Pinto. "If we close the doors for all farmers, for all companies, then we're going to put in the same basket the good ones with the bad ones."
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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13092019/forest-loss-rate-global-deforestation-amazon-fires-corporate-agribusiness-international-declaration