Hey Europe, stop financing Australia’s deforestation

Hey Europe, stop financing Australia’s deforestation

Australia’s in the grip of a deforestation crisis, with massive areas of threatened species habitat being cleared or logged every year, pushing more and more plants and animals towards extinction. However, on other continents like Europe, people are generally unaware of the ravaging impacts of deforestation in Australia. This matters because European banks and investors are actively contributing to this deforestation disaster by funding destructive industries in Australia. 

Right now, the European Union is debating new laws to reduce European businesses and governments' impact on the Earth’s forests. But the laws may not end up being strong enough ...

Australia’s in the grip of a deforestation crisis, with massive areas of threatened species habitat being cleared or logged every year, pushing more and more plants and animals towards extinction. However, on other continents like Europe, people are generally unaware of the ravaging impacts of deforestation in Australia. This matters because European banks and investors are actively contributing to this deforestation disaster by funding destructive industries in Australia. 

Right now, the European Union is debating new laws to reduce European businesses and governments' impact on the Earth’s forests. But the laws may not end up being strong enough to solve the problem.  

Together, we can let leaders in the EU and the UK know about Australia’s deforestation crisis, and compel them to take action: they must make the new laws strong enough to put an end to the financial flows and regulatory loopholes from Europe.  

Will you add your name to the Wilderness Society’s letter pressuring European policy makers to stop European deforestation finance from reaching Australia?

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Add your name!

Add your name to the Wilderness Society’s letter to European leaders asking them to stop European banks from financing vast deforestation in Australia.

Dear European Union and British institutions,

Australia’s incredible nature is being destroyed at an astounding rate. Across the continent, on unceded First Nations’ land, precious forests and bushland are still being logged and cleared. The crisis is enabled in part by European banks and investors, which are financing destructive industries in Australia. European finance is helping industries like beef production to continue destroying forests without strong restrictions, pushing iconic animals like the koala on the verge of extinction: this needs to change. 

The financial sector needs a wake-up call: banks and financial institutions cannot continue funding Australian deforestation. They must recognise Australia’s extinction crisis, take stock of their own involvement in the damage, and take concrete steps to stop giving Australian industries a free rein to keep destroying precious forests and bushland. As a European policy-maker, you have the capacity to create strong laws to prevent European finance from driving deforestation in Australia, and help give nature the protection it deserves everywhere on Earth.

For nature,

Wilderness Society