Measures designed to tackle global deforestation must not disadvantage smallholder farmers and workers in low-income countries, but instead must support them to thrive, the heads of Fairtrade’s international producer networks have told the UK Government, as COP28 gets underway.
In an open letter sent at the start of the climate summit in Dubai, the Fairtrade signatories urge Andrew Mitchell, Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and Lord Benyon, Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to move forward with its commitments on deforestation in a way that supports farmers and rural workers worldwide.
The letter has been signed by: Patrick Kimemia, Chairperson of Fairtrade Africa; Marike de Peña, President of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair Trade Small Producers and Workers; Pravakar Meher, Chair of the Network of Asia and Pacific Producers; and Michael Gidney, CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation. Together they represent more than 2 million farmers and workers worldwide.
Fairtrade ‘strongly supports’ efforts to tackle deforestation and commends the Government both for the adoption of the Environment Act 2021, as well as the pledge at COP21 for a £500m package to protect rainforests from deforestation. However, as the letter notes, two years on no secondary legislation has been put in place to establish the requirement for deforestation-free products in the market.
‘Demonstrate commitment’
Given the severity of the climate crisis – which disproportionately affects farming communities in low-income countries – laws to stamp out illegal deforestation in all UK supply chains must come into force as a matter of urgency, the Fairtrade leaders tell the Government ministers.
They say: “We add our voice to those, including key UK retailers, calling for the legislation to protect the vulnerable. We urge the UK Government to bring forward the legislation as soon as possible. COP28 would be the ideal opportunity for the Government to demonstrate its strong commitment to tackling deforestation whilst also supporting the most vulnerable. We would welcome the Government using the [COP28] summit as the opportunity to make an announcement around the secondary legislation.”
The signatories continue: “We would also welcome further announcements regarding the status of the £500m package on deforestation announced at COP26. We urge the Government to ensure that this funding is disbursed in a way that reaches the world’s poorest farmers and workers – the people at the first mile of global supply chains – and responds to the priorities that they identify. This will be critical to supporting the successful implementation of the Environment Act and a just transition.”
COP28 would be the ideal opportunity for the Government to demonstrate its strong commitment to tackling deforestation whilst also supporting the most vulnerable.
Fairtrade leaders Patrick Kimemia, Marike de Peña, Pravakar Meher and Michael Gidney.
Tackling root causes
In developing any secondary legislation on the Environment Act, Fairtrade wants the UK Government to: assess the impacts on smallholders conducted before the regulatory proposal passes into law; tackle root causes of deforestation as a precondition to reducing the deforestation footprint; and engage responsibly with smallholders and their producer organisations.
The signatories also believe the UK Government should ‘refer explicitly’ to international standards of human rights; combine traceability requirements with ‘adequate support and safeguards’ on data ownership for smallholders and their producer organisations; and maximise the potential of partnerships and other financial tools to support smallholders to comply with new requirements and jointly address the root causes of deforestation.
Imported goods popular with UK shoppers, such as cocoa, bananas, tea, coffee and cotton, are often produced by farmers and workers who are marginalised within global supply chains and who cannot earn a living income and living wage, due to low prices paid for their crops and low earnings. While they want to tackle deforestation, they cannot afford to lose market access. As a result, farmers and workers must be supported to comply with the new legislation, the Fairtrade signatories say.
Burden of compliance
“It is therefore essential that when tackling deforestation, the burden and high cost of compliance falls on those with the broadest shoulders – multinational companies that account for the majority of value share in many supply chains. Otherwise, the legislation will likely have the unintended consequence of pushing more people into poverty and will not have the effect of reducing deforestation as the legislation sets out to do,” the letter warns.
Fairtrade Standards contain strong provisions on tackling deforestation, including Small-Scale Producer Standards, which require a guarantee that members’ activities on production areas do not cause deforestation. Fairtrade is keen to collaborate with the UK Government to ensure that funds for tackling deforestation reaches farmers and workers and meets their needs.
In closing, the Fairtrade signatories say:
We reiterate our commitment to playing our part in tackling deforestation and climate change. If this is done correctly, we have a great opportunity to achieve a win-win of protecting the environment whilst also supporting some of the poorest farmers and workers in the world with measures that will help them become more sustainable and achieve living incomes and wages.
-ENDS-
For more information contact Tomilola Ajayi: tomilola.ajayi@fairtrade.org.uk
Notes to Editors
The full text of the letter:
The Rt Hon Lord Benyon, Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell, Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
30 November 2023
Dear Ministers,
Ahead of COP28, we are writing to urge the UK Government to ensure that measures to tackle global deforestation support smallholder farmers and workers to thrive and do not disadvantage them.
Fairtrade strongly supports efforts to tackle deforestation and commends the Government both for the adoption of the Environment Act 2021, but also the pledge at COP21 for a £500m package to protect rainforest from deforestation. Fairtrade Standards themselves already contain strong provisions on tackling deforestation, including our Small-Scale Producer Standards which require a guarantee that members’ activities on production areas do not cause deforestation.
Products important to UK consumers, such as cocoa and bananas, tea, coffee and cotton, are often produced by some of the poorest farmers and workers in the world who are often marginalised within global supply chains. Too often, the price they receive for their produce is too low for them to earn a living income and living wage. Farmers and workers want to tackle deforestation, and they cannot afford to lose market access. The key consideration, therefore, is how they can be supported to comply with the new legislation.
It is therefore essential that when tackling deforestation, the burden and high cost of compliance falls on those with the broadest shoulders – multinational companies that account for the majority of value share in many supply chains. Otherwise, the legislation will likely have the unintended consequence of pushing more people into poverty and will not have the effect of reducing deforestation as the legislation sets out to do.
We note that since the passing of the Environment Act, it has now been a further two years without the secondary legislation being in place that would establish the requirement for deforestation-free products in the market. We add our voice to those, including key UK retailers, calling for the legislation to protect the vulnerable. We urge the Government to bring forward the legislation as soon as possible, and in doing so:
- Assess the impacts on smallholders conducted before the regulatory proposal passes into law.
- Tackle root causes of deforestation as a precondition to reduce the deforestation footprint.
- Engage responsibly with smallholders and their producer organisations.
- Refer explicitly to international standards of human rights
- Combine traceability requirements with adequate support and safeguards on data ownership for smallholders and their producer organisations.
- Leverage partnerships, cooperation mechanisms and other financial tools to support smallholders’ compliance with new requirements and jointly address root causes of deforestation.
COP28 would be the ideal opportunity for the Government to demonstrate its strong commitment to tackling deforestation whilst also supporting the most vulnerable. We would welcome the Government using the summit as the opportunity to make an announcement around the secondary legislation. We would also welcome further announcements regarding the status of the £500m package on deforestation announced at COP26.
We urge the Government to ensure that this funding is disbursed in a way that reaches the world’s poorest farmers and workers – the people at the first mile of global supply chains – and responds to the priorities that they identify. This will be critical to supporting the successful implementation of the Environment Act and a just transition. Fairtrade has developed effective mechanisms to ensure that funding reaches and meets the needs of farmers and workers, in a transparent and fully auditable way, and we would be delighted to discuss how we could collaborate on creating a delivery mechanism for smallholder deforestation funding.
We reiterate our commitment to playing our part in tackling deforestation and climate change. If this is done correctly, we have a great opportunity to achieve a win-win of protecting the environment whilst also supporting some of the poorest farmers and workers in the world with measures that will help them become more sustainable and achieve living incomes and wages.
Yours sincerely,
Patrick Kimemia, Chairperson, Fairtrade Africa
Marike de Peña, President, The Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair Trade Small Producers and Workers
Pravakar Meher, Chair, Network of Asia & Pacific Producers
Michael Gidney, CEO, The Fairtrade Foundation