New APPG promises to “raise the voices of those most impacted by deforestation.”

The inaugural meeting of the new All Party Parliamentary Group on Global Deforestation met in Parliament to discuss the current state of deforestation action and focus on priorities for the new group.

Labour MP Anna Gelderd and Liberal Democrat MP Pippa Heylings were elected as the co-chairs of the APPG and the NGO Forest Coalition was approved to host the Secretariat of the group. Also in attendance were Alex Sobell MP, Sean Woodcock MP, Claire Young MP and Johanna Baxter MP.

The Environmental Investigation Agency’s Senior Forest Campaigner Vanessa Richardson updated the APPG on the deforestation challenge facing the world.

• In 2024 fires in the Brazilian Amazon were up 80% compared to the same period in 2023.
• Fire activity in Brazil and Bolivia reached levels not seen since 2010 as a prolonged drought created parched landscapes.
• In south east Asia, regional deforestation rose to 1.83 million hectares in 2023 – 61% off track from 2030 goals according to the latest Forest Declaration Assessment.
• The UK is 15th largest contributor to tropical deforestation in the world, the intensity of UK consumption (measured in footprint per tonne of product consumed) is higher than that of China.
• According to the WWF Risky business report, the UK is estimated to consume 21.3 million hectares of land, equivalent to 88% of UK land area each year to satisfy the UK’s demand for just seven commodities (beef & leather, cocoa, palm oil, pulp & paper, rubber, soy and timber).

There are currently UK industry and various global policies to reach verified deforestation and conversion free supply chains in 2025 as part of science based targets. That includes 60% of the market involved in consumption of soy produced for animal feed – one of the leading drivers of conversion across South America.

At COP26 world leaders committed to the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. This was re-enforced by its inclusion into the final text of the COP28 agreement in Dubai.

Veronica Oakeshott from Global Witness urged the new UK government to bring a refreshed approach to deforestation policies in the UK including ambitious and effective regulations to tackle deforestation caused by UK supply chains. She identified the Environmental Audit Committee report which identified key actions the UK government should take.

“Our APPG should focus on both the drivers and impacts of deforestation”

Anna Gelderd MP, co-chair of the APPG on Global Deforestation

Other key UK government actions identified include finance sector regulation to halt the flow of funds which enable deforestation. A Treasury review of finance regulation is built into the recently passed Financial Services and Markets Act.

The event also talked about the importance of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Co-chair Pippa Heylings said a key role of the APPG should be to “raise the voices of those most impacted by deforestation. They are often the most voiceless.”