The increase in beef exports from Brazil to the EU will, in a worst-case scenario, lead to additional deforestation of between 220,000 and 1.35 million hectares over 5 years according to a study conducted by the Institut de l'Élevage published on Wednesday 7 June. The Institut de l'Élevage is an applied research and development institute based in France.
The study, which was commissioned by the Greens/EFA group, also reveals that the agreement will reinforce the specialisation of Mercosur countries in the primary sector, which the authors believe is strongly linked to growing inequalities and environmental problems.
Among other recommendations, the authors suggest making trade liberalisation conditional on compliance with sustainability obligations. In the case of Brazil, for example, deforestation will need to be effectively reduced in order to qualify for reduced tariffs.
They also suggest that the impact of trade liberalisation on greenhouse gas emissions is monitored. If the former increase the latter, then the agreement should be suspended, according to the Institut de l'Élevage.
See the study: https://aeur.eu/f/7b3 (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)