PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
ILLEGAL AND UNSUSTAINABLE TIMBER (1 June 2015)

That this House notes the problem of illegal logging, estimated at between 15 per cent and 30 per cent of the international timber trade, which results in lost revenues for producer countries, environmental damage, loss of biodiversity and increased carbon emissions; further notes that the European Union's Timber Regulation (EUTR) which came into force in 2013 fails to ensure that all timber sold in Europe is of legal origin or from sustainably managed forests; further notes that WWF-UK has highlighted these issues in its current Forest Campaign, which is supported by 40 businesses and over 70,000 people; urges the Government to support changes to the EUTR which ensure full product coverage and consistent implementation across Europe to prevent unfair competition for UK business and assure consumers that all timber and wood-based products sold in the EU are legal; and calls on the Government to ensure a 100 per cent sustainable timber and wood-based product trade by 2020, as a key step in meeting the UK's commitments under the New York Declaration on Forests, including the goal of halving natural forest loss by 2020 and halting it entirely by 2030.

Sponsored by:
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative)