Deforestation

At COP30, Europe’s climate leadership is at risk. Recent steps back on the European Green Deal and new offset rules make it harder for the EU to convince others to be more ambitious.

On 3 September 2025, the European Commission presented the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the modernised EU–Mexico deal for approval. In the context of the recently announced EU-US trade agreement, they mark one of the biggest steps in EU trade policy in years. After long and difficult negotiations, the EU is moving forward in a rapidly changing global trade order. Yet, a number of EU Member States are opposed and questions about sustainability and Europe's agricultural sector remain. We asked 3 Questions to MEP Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA).

Soil degradation is a major but largely neglected global problem that threatens agricultural productivity, food security, and ecosystem health. Around one-third of soils worldwide are degraded, with over 40 percent located in Africa.

Deforestation — the widespread clearing of forests for various purposes — has become a critical global issue with profound environmental, social, and economic consequences. Driven by factors like agriculture, logging, and urban expansion, this destructive practice exacerbates climate change, threatens biodiversity, and jeopardizes communities worldwide. In this report, we explore the multifaceted reasons why deforestation requires immediate attention and action.

Three percent of the world’s peatlands have been destroyed for forestry purposes, releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Drained peat soils are the scene of devastating fires that are used to clear land.

COPs are a time of a plethora of announcements, pledges and initiatives by countries, businesses and financial institutes. It is hard to keep up and even harder to distinguish between newsworthy reason for hope and old wine in new bottles. Lisa Tostado reports on the climate “communication nightmare” of welcoming progress while emphasizing the persistent astronomical gap to what would be Paris Agreement-compatible.

Recent carbon-neutrality pledges may seem ambitious, but merely serve to promote a new set of false climate solutions under a different guise. Such pledges may persuade many people, but the climate isn’t buying it.

In South America, natural vegetation is being turned into pastureland and monocultures to support an unsustainable form of livestock production. In Africa and Asia, on the other hand, a sustainable form of livestock raising is losing ground to industrialized agriculture. Traditional local communities are the losers.

The rain forest is going up in smoke – this is the impression given by the images that have been circling the globe for years. But the digital age means that they now travel faster than ever. There are fires in the Arctic, forests burning in Canada, Siberia, South East Asia and now in Amazonia. It is a cause for concern and incomprehension, as most people are now aware of the importance of the largest tropical forest on earth in climate change and protecting biodiversity.  

Amazonia means many things to different people. Below is an overview of what Amazonia is, who lives here and why such large areas of it are being slashed and burned.