Dozens of ENGOs from across the world have slammed Mondelēz for pushing a further 12‑month delay to the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), as Europe endures its worst forest fire season on record. The letter comes as new European Commission data reveals 1,025,036 hectares of forest have burned across Europe so far this year — up from 222,132 hectares in the same period in 2024. Carbon emissions from the fires have surged to 38.68 million tonnes of CO₂, more than triple last year’s 11.46 million tonnes.
“Mondelēz claims to still support the goals of the EUDR, but its recent actions are at odds with that statement,” the coalition wrote. “Any further delay fundamentally threatens the regulation by postponing critical action and opening the entire regulatory framework for re‑examination, debate, and further dilatory tactics.”
Passed in June 2023 after years of negotiations, the EUDR bans the import of beef, soy, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, natural rubber, and wood into the EU if linked to deforestation or forest degradation. It requires companies to geolocate the origin of commodities and prove they were not produced on deforested land after December 2020. Originally due to take effect on 30 December 2024, enforcement was postponed by 12 months. Mondelēz is now calling for a further year’s delay, citing readiness concerns.
Alex Armstrong, Vice President of External Affairs at Mighty Earth, said the stakes could not be higher. “Europe has just experienced the worst fires since records began, with more than a million hectares burned and carbon emissions having tripled last year’s figures. With the world’s forests falling fast to agricultural expansion and fueling global heating, it’s critical that the EUDR is implemented on time.”
Armstrong warned that most companies have already invested in compliance over the past two years. “EU policymakers cannot allow any further delay to the Regulation. This would serve only to reward the laggards and slackers – and imperil the entire legal mechanism. The time to act is now if Europe and the rest of the world are to avoid more horrific forest fires.”
The latest delay comes after one of Europe’s largest coffee companies, Lavazza, also called for further delays to the EUDR, claiming that the new policy will disrupt supply chains and increase prices. Speaking to reporters in July, Lavazza Chairman Giuseppe Lavazza called for another postponement: “We are calling for the legislation, especially for coffee, to be postponed for another year,” according to Giuseppe Lavazza, who said that the cocoa (and timber) industry was far better prepared than the coffee industry to deal with the EUDR compliance requirements.
