Economy & Business - February 2024

HONDURAS | Private sector highlights new EU deforestation export rules. On 22 December Honduras’ leading private sector lobby Consejo Hondureño de la Empresa Privada (Cohep) underlined that new European Union rules will take effect from January 2025 regarding zero deforestation for Honduras’ export sectors of coffee, palm oil, cacao, beef, leather, wood, and soya. According to Cohep, in order to continue exporting to the European market, companies working in these sectors must comply with requirements regarding deforestation. Also indicative of EU efforts to reduce deforestation in Honduras, last month at the United Nations climate change conference (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates, Maroš Šefčovič, the executive vice president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, and Honduras’ President Xiomara Castro, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a Forest Partnership with Honduras which will contribute to Honduras’ objective to restore 1.3m hectares of forest and implement its National Biodiversity Action Plan.