Forests: Environment Protection
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' press release entitled Government steps up action to tackle illegal deforestation, published on 23 June 2026, what estimate she has made of the reduction in carbon emissions expected to result from the proposed regulations.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The deforestation regulations will target the use of cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, wood and soy (and certain derived products like chocolate and furniture) in our economy. UK consumption of these commodities was linked to 19,000 hectares of UK driven deforestation in 2023 and associated with 3.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Actual reductions in carbon emissions expected to result from the proposed regulations will depend on how effectively the policy changes business behaviour and the extent to which deforestation is not displaced to other markets or regions.
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