Forests
European Union
Small banner: Annual report 2020 - Time for a climate revolution

For more examples of our impact, see our 2020 annual report 

Our investigative case studies and report, Money To Burn, highlighted how EU based financial institutions are bankrolling global deforestation.

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Our research showed how major financial institutions are funding deforestation and walking away with huge profits from the destruction of climate critical forests. Sébastien Thibault / Global Witness

Throughout 2020, we made the case for EU action to tackle this problem through our policy briefings, research and in the media. This led to a number of other organisations and policy-makers adopting our recommendations, culminating in the European Parliament backing calls for strong measures to tackle the EU’s contribution to global deforestation. Money to Burn was described by MEPs as “a game changer”. Significantly, their recommendations included the need for new laws to ensure mandatory due diligence on deforestation risk by financial institutions, which sets a high bar of ambition for the European Commission’s legislative proposal due in 2021.

We’re grateful to our supporters who mobilised behind calls for strong EU legislation. Almost 1.2 million people responded to a European Commission consultation calling for new laws to ensure the EU is doing more to end its role in driving deforestation - covering financial institutions as well as supply chains. This was the second most popular public consultation in the history of the EU, thanks to the network of NGOs we worked with across the EU and globally.

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