Consultations are underway on a proposed law to prohibit large UK businesses from using products sourced from illegally deforested lands.

By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green

On 25 August 2020, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) launched a consultation on a new law aimed at preventing large companies from using commodities grown on land that has been illegally deforested (known as forest risk commodities). The consultation includes seven questions to assess whether large companies should be obligated to perform due diligence on their supply chains, and whether large companies should be prohibited from using forest risk commodities. Key forest risk commodities include palm oil, cocoa, soy, and rubber.

The Bill proposes a post-Brexit system of environmental governance to oversee new powers and regulations in four environmental law areas.

By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green

On 15 October 2019, the UK government published the final draft of Environment Bill 2019–20 (the Bill), which aims to set out the government’s environmental priorities post-Brexit. The Bill covers a broad range of topics ― from air quality to England’s future environmental governance — and gives a legal footing to several policy commitments that the government has made in recent years. This blog post will consider the Bill’s content, and the potential impact that the Bill may have on environmental regulation in England.