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The European Parliament on Thursday approved a one-year delay on implementing the bloc’s sweeping anti-deforestation rules but also voted to loosen some requirements—raising fresh uncertainty over the landmark law.
The move triggered an outcry from environmental groups, which accused lawmakers of adding loopholes to a bill hailed as a major breakthrough in the fight to protect nature and combat climate change.
“It’s a dark day for Europe’s environmental credentials,” said Julian Oram, policy director at advocacy group Mighty Earth. Global Witness said lawmakers had taken a “chainsaw” to the deforestation ban.
Centrist lawmaker Yvan Verougstraete said the amendments had emptied the bill of its substance and could for instance see China—a major contributor to global deforestation—relieved of “all obligations”.
Environmentalists said the changes would amount to exempting some EU nations entirely from the scope of the law.
The amendments de facto restart the legislative process, as the new text needs to be re-discussed by the commission and member states.
