Oslo, July 8 : Norway will adopt key elements of the European Union's (EU) Deforestation Regulation as part of its efforts to combat climate change and prevent biodiversity loss, the Norwegian government said on Monday.

Under the new policy, Norway will introduce stricter requirements for high-risk products commonly linked to deforestation, including wood, coffee, cocoa, rubber, and palm oil, the government said in a press release, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The conversion of forests into agricultural land accounts for nearly 90 percent of global deforestation," said Minister of Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen.

"Consumers should be confident that the products they buy do not contribute to the destruction of critical natural areas."

The Norwegian government has decided to incorporate the EU Deforestation Regulation into the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement. This step ensures that the regulation's EEA-relevant parts will apply in Norway, aligning the country's environmental standards with those of the EU.

Norway will not apply the regulation to agricultural products such as beef and soy, nor to exports to countries outside the EEA, as these fall outside the scope of the EEA Agreement. However, national regulations for these products will be considered.

The EU Deforestation Regulation was adopted in 2023 and will take effect on December 30, 2025.

An official statement mentions that the Regulation is part of a broader plan of action to tackle deforestation and forest degradation, first outlined in the 2019 Commission Communication on Stepping up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World's Forests.

This commitment was later confirmed by the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Farm to Fork Strategy.

The Commission has adopted an Implementing Regulation under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which classifies countries according to their risk of deforestation when producing the seven commodities covered by EUDR (cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood).

The statement notes that new rules aim to avoid the listed products Europeans buy, use and consume contribute to deforestation and forest degradation in the EU and globally; reduce carbon emissions caused by EU consumption and production of the relevant commodities by at least 32 million metric tonnes a year, and address all deforestation driven by agricultural expansion to produce the commodities in the scope of the regulation, as well as forest degradation.

/IANS