Norway is the first country to adopt a ban on deforestation, a policy that will likely have global effects.
The Norwegian parliament recently committed to a deforestation-free
supply chain of goods coming into the country. Norway is not, however,
new to putting large sums of money to stop deforestation in Brazil, Liberia and Indonesia.
The zero deforestation commitment was put forward by the Standing Committee on Energy and Environment as part of the Norwegian government’s Action Plan on Nature Diversity. This commitment precludes deforestation in public procurements. In other words, the Norwegians will not award any of its government contracts to companies that take part in deforestation.
Crops typically associated with large-scale rainforest destruction are soy, timber, palm oil and beef. The Norwegian government will now require sustainable policy and practice in producing the aforementioned products if they are to be procured by the government.
The basis of the forest protection commitment comes from the UN Climate Summit in New York in 2014. During the Climate Summit, Norway, Germany and the UK all made a joint statement that they would “promote national commitments that encourage deforestation-free supply chains, including through public procurement policies to sustainably source commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef and timber.” Thus far, Norway is the only country to back the statement with policy. A study last year found that the above commodities in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia, Malaysia and Papa New Guinea, were responsible for 40% of total tropical deforestation and a similar 44% carbon emissions between 2000 and 2011.
In addition to the deforestation language in the Action Plan on Natural Diversity, there are also recommendations to incorporate biodiversity as a factor in determining investments for Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GFPG). The GFPG is the largest sovereign wealth fund anywhere in the world and thus can impact markets depending on investment decisions. The fund currently considers climate change when determining investment strategies, but has not to this point considered biodiversity.
The zero deforestation commitment was put forward by the Standing Committee on Energy and Environment as part of the Norwegian government’s Action Plan on Nature Diversity. This commitment precludes deforestation in public procurements. In other words, the Norwegians will not award any of its government contracts to companies that take part in deforestation.
Crops typically associated with large-scale rainforest destruction are soy, timber, palm oil and beef. The Norwegian government will now require sustainable policy and practice in producing the aforementioned products if they are to be procured by the government.
The basis of the forest protection commitment comes from the UN Climate Summit in New York in 2014. During the Climate Summit, Norway, Germany and the UK all made a joint statement that they would “promote national commitments that encourage deforestation-free supply chains, including through public procurement policies to sustainably source commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef and timber.” Thus far, Norway is the only country to back the statement with policy. A study last year found that the above commodities in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia, Malaysia and Papa New Guinea, were responsible for 40% of total tropical deforestation and a similar 44% carbon emissions between 2000 and 2011.
In addition to the deforestation language in the Action Plan on Natural Diversity, there are also recommendations to incorporate biodiversity as a factor in determining investments for Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GFPG). The GFPG is the largest sovereign wealth fund anywhere in the world and thus can impact markets depending on investment decisions. The fund currently considers climate change when determining investment strategies, but has not to this point considered biodiversity.
