Environment Act 2021

(asked on 13th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding the due diligence clauses in the Environment Act 2021 to cover (a) breaches of international agreements on human rights and (b) all forms of damaging deforestation.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 18th January 2022

The Government has introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains associated with agricultural commodities. This is in recognition that, globally, a significant proportion of deforestation is illegal - close to 90% in some of the world's most important forests. The due diligence legislation complements the UK Timber Regulations, which prohibit the placing of illegally harvested timber and timber products on the UK market and require those first placing such products on the UK market to exercise due diligence.

Basing our approach on compliance with the local laws of producer countries, of which the UK is one, recognises the primacy of national and sub-national Governments' decisions in determining the management of their natural resources. Through the UK's aid programmes we work in partnership with producer countries to reinforce and strengthen their efforts to protect their ecosystems, which is fundamental to enhancing forest protection in the long term. The legislation also contains a provision requiring the Secretary of State to conduct a review of the law’s effectiveness every two years once it comes into force, and set out any steps they intend to take as a result, ensuring we will take action if we do not see progress.

These regulations are part of a wider package of measures being adopted by the UK in our leading role working with partners globally to halt and reverse forest loss.

On human rights, the UK Government has consistently supported the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on business and human rights, which are widely regarded as the authoritative international framework to steer practical action by Governments and businesses worldwide on this important and pressing agenda. Implementation of the UNGPs will support access to justice and remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuses, wherever these occur, and encourage businesses to adopt due diligence approaches to respecting human rights.

The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UNGPs. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan. The UK is also the first country in the world to require businesses to report on the steps they have taken to tackle modern slavery in their operations and global supply chains, and we have announced measures to strengthen the transparency in supply chains legislation in the Modern Slavery Act.

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