The planned EU trade agreement with the South American bloc Mercosur is at odds with the goals of the EU's Green Deal in many respects, researchers write in a new report. It also contradicts a number of sustainability criteria.

Just recently, German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) expressed "considerable doubts" about the implementation of the Mercosur agreement in light of deforestation in the Amazon region. Her doubts are justified, a statement from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna said on Wednesday. After all, deforestation in South America releases large quantities of carbon dioxide and accelerates the loss of biodiversity.

A football pitch cleared every three minutes

"One thing is clear: when we destroy forests, everyone suffers," explains lead author Laura Kehoe from the University of Oxford. Kehoe is part of a team, including ecologist Helmut Haberl from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, that has just published the report in the academic journal "One Earth".

The authors criticise the fact that, despite all climate protection efforts, the EU is the world's leading importer of agricultural products that cause deforestation.

Read the full report at science.orf.at!