December 9, 2022

BRUSSELS— European lawmakers and EU member states inked a deal to ban the purchase of products such as cocoa, coffee, and soybeans that contribute to deforestation, increasing the pressure exerted on Brazilian exports. The list also encompasses palm oil, wood, beef, rubber, and derivate products like skins, chocolate, furniture, and paper.   In addition to Brazil, the EU deal should also affect countries like Indonesia, Argentina, Ghana, and Nigeria, as the importation of these products will be prohibited if linked to deforestation after December 2023, explained the European Parliament.   The legislation text specified that the ban aims to protect

Populations of a vulnerable species of marine mammal, numerous species of abalone and a type of Caribbean coral are now threatened with extinction, an international conservation organization said Friday.   The International Union for Conservation of Nature announced the update during the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP15, conference in Montreal. The union’s hundreds of members include government agencies from around the world, and it’s one of the planet’s widest-reaching environmental networks.   The IUCN uses its Red List of Threatened Species to categorize animals approaching extinction. This year, the union is sounding the alarm about the dugong

Security Council adopts resolution creating exemption in sanctions regimes   The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Friday that will protect humanitarian assistance from unintended negative impacts across all U.N. sanctions regimes. Fourteen council members voted in favor and only one, India, abstained on the U.S. and Ireland-initiated text. The resolution seeks to exempt “the provision, processing or payment of funds, other financial assets,” or the provision of goods and services “necessary to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance” from U.N. sanctions.   UN Security Council Protects Humanitarian Aid from Sanctions   Condemnation of Iran’s execution of protester