AEIP publishes its statement on the Deforestation Regulation commenting that it could threaten pension entitlements
In view of the ongoing legislative procedures and discussions on the Deforestation Regulation on 22 November AEIP adopted its position. AEIP welcomes the initiative on the Deforestation Regulation, and underlines that its members are strongly committed to combatting deforestation and forest degradation with the aim to achieve the EU’s sustainability objectives and protecting our ecosystems. Nevertheless, in relation to the current text of the Regulation AEIP emphasises that to fight global climate change and biodiversity loss there is the need to ensure that products sold in the EU do not come from deforested or degraded land, and this can best be controlled and prevented by operators and traders, not by the financial sector.
In that regard, AEIP believes that in the current Regulation there is the need for clear definitions such as of what constitutes as a ‘financial institution’ and further clarities should be introduced on whether a pension fund should conduct due diligence vis-à-vis sponsoring undertakings.
AEIP underlines that including pension funds in the scope of the Deforestation Regulation would create the serious risk that many pension funds would have to discontinue relations with their sponsor companies, thereby threatening pension entitlements. For this reason, AEIP invites decision-makers to consider its position and reject the extension of the scope of this Regulation to financial undertakings.
As part of its policy activities AEIP has shared a statement with decision-makers.
To read the full AEIP statement on the Deforestation Regulation, please see here.