Catch up on the main nature policy news from May
New bans target “forever chemicals”, but exemptions raise concerns
Delegates from over 150 countries came together to eliminate three groups of toxic chemicals under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), marking a new step to curb chemical pollution. Known as “forever chemicals” these compounds persist, travel and accumulate in the environment and organisms, causing damage to nature and human health.
Used to make products like food packaging, cookware, toys, and pesticides, the newly banned chemical groups are the pesticide chlorpyrifos, and two common industrial chemical groups: medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) and long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (LC-PFCAs).
However, lengthy exemption lists sparked concern. The International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) criticized the move, arguing that safer alternatives exist. Convention representatives, on the other hand, explained that exemptions are necessary as chemicals are “incredibly complex and woven into intricate supply chains.”
Chemicals are used in our daily lives and in nearly all industrial processes. Yet, the sector continues to contribute to drivers of biodiversity loss, such as pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater use and land conversion. It’s essential that the chemical sector plays its part in achieving the Global Biodiversity Framework, and ultimately works to remove all harmful elements from its supply chains. Learn more about the priority actions that the chemicals sector should take for nature in our Chemicals Sector Actions report.
Brazil’s Senate approves “Devastation Bill”
The Brazilian Senate passed a “devastation” bill slashing environmental licensing requirements across multiple sectors. The new law would introduce fast-tracked approvals for “strategic” projects and allow self-declarations for many businesses, removing independent environmental review for a growing number of companies.
Environment Minister Marina Silva condemned the bill, calling it “the burial of environmental licensing.” According to the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA), the law would directly threaten more than 3,000 protected areas. This not only jeopardizes Brazil’s environmental commitments to end deforestation by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, but also risks healthy ecosystems and the vital ecosystem services that businesses rely on.
High Seas Treaty gains momentum ahead of UN Oceans Conference
With just days to go before the UN Oceans Conference, the European Union and six EU member states - Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal and Slovenia - formally ratified the High Seas Treaty.
This brings the number of ratifications to 28, with 32 more needed for the Treaty to come into force. Adopted in 2023, it aims to safeguard areas beyond national jurisdiction by curbing overexploitation from activities like industrial fishing and shipping.
The High Seas Treaty is an essential lever to deliver the Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30x30 goal: protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030. All businesses, whether directly or indirectly, depend on ocean resources, so should recognize the Treaty’s crucial role in securing long-term ocean health and business success.
Ahead of the UN Oceans Conference, more than 80 organizations and businesses representing over EUR 600 Billion and 2 million employees have called on governments to accelerate and adopt ambitious action for healthy oceans through a Call to Action. Organizations of all sizes, sectors and geographies can sign the Call to Action up until 16 June – find out more in our joint business article.
European Union unveils countries’ deforestation risk categorization and advances Omnibus discussions
The European Commission has released the first benchmarking list for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), assigning risk levels to countries based on their history of deforestation and forest degradation. Only Belarus, Myanmar, North Korea and Russia earned a high-risk designation. Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia received standard-risk classification, despite high historical deforestation rates. Meanwhile, all EU Member States, the United States, and China, among others, were classified as low-risk.
In parallel, 11 EU countries, led by Austria and Luxembourg, are demanding changes to the EUDR. These include delaying implementation and creating a new category of “very low-risk countries” exempt from due diligence checks.
The EUDR is an important tool to guarantee progress in eliminating legal and illegal deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems across key forest-risk commodities.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament continues discussing the Omnibus Package, which we’ve already covered in the February, March and April updates. A leaked draft proposal from the Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON Committee) would introduce further changes, going beyond the original Omnibus proposal.
The leaked document proposes further reducing the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and limiting mandatory data points. However, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has pushed back against some of the proposed changes, particularly the CSRD scope reduction. They argue it “punishes frontrunners who have already put in place extensive sustainability measures and threatens the many new jobs and small enterprises that have been created around sustainability reporting."
Business for Nature will continue monitoring developments around the Omnibus Package while advocating for the EU to enable streamlined, comparable, and meaningful reporting.
Belgium publishes updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan
This month also saw Belgium update its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), joining the Netherlands, Burundi, the United Kingdom, and 49 other countries in revising their biodiversity strategies. The Belgian NBSAP outlines 16 objectives, including targets for sectoral actions, assessments and reporting, as well as harmful subsidies.
In line with Business for Nature’s recommendations for updated NBSAPs, the strategy recognizes the importance of private sector action, particularly through the implementation of Target 15. The NBSAP emphasizes the relevance of ensuring the effective implementation of the CSRD and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), but doesn’t detail how the government will facilitate implementation.
Similarly, while the plan acknowledges the importance of identifying and reforming harmful subsidies by the end of 2025 to mobilize biodiversity finance, it does not specify any actions or commitments associated with this target.
Caught up on May? Go back to the April news update to catch up on previous nature policy stories from around the world.