A deforestation benchmarking system approved by European Union member states lists only four countries as at high-risk for tree-felling, sources confirmed Tuesday, sparking criticism from environmentalists.
The list, yet to be officially published, is a key component of a sweeping anti-deforestation law approved late last year which has faced opposition from businesses and some of the EU’s trading partners.
Approved on Monday by the bloc's 27 members, the list rates all EU countries as well as China and the United States as low-risk nations—subjecting them to less stringent export checks, according to several sources.
Brazil and Indonesia feature among standard-risk countries while only Russia, Belarus, North Korea, and Myanmar are in the high-risk category.
Marie Toussaint, a European lawmaker with the Greens said she was “surprised” by the ranking of some countries.
And environmental group Global Witness complained that the benchmarking. . .
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