23 April 2025

Press Release

For immediate release

Majority of Brits back government action to tackle illegal deforestation – new poll

70% of Brits back government action to prevent the sale of products linked to illegal deforestation overseas
Broad public consensus for implementation of 2021 law requiring due diligence from companies, irrespective of age and politics
WWF and Global Witness call on UK Government to act now to protect global forests

Well over two-thirds (70%) of Britons back the implementation of a law to remove illegal deforestation from UK supply chains, according to new polling by WWF-UK and Global Witness.

Published today, the research - conducted by More in Common - signifies a broad consensus for government action on deforestation, with the majority of Brits supporting the implementation of the law requiring companies to check their supply chains and take responsibility for destructive farming impacts in other countries. This is a conviction that spans across age and politics, with majorities of every age group and voter group in support.

Currently, companies have no legal duty to check whether commodities and products they import have been produced on illegally deforested land. This means that products on UK supermarket shelves may be linked to illegal deforestation in places such as the Amazon, West Africa and Indonesia, with both retailers or consumers in the dark. High-risk food commodities include beef and cattle products, palm oil, soybeans (primarily used to feed British pigs and chickens), cocoa and coffee.

Since the Environment Act was passed in 2021, successive governments have had the legal powers to create a due diligence regime for commodities known to be linked to deforestation overseas, which would ban the importation and sale of food grown on illegally deforested land. However, despite three years and five Environment Secretaries, this power remains unused.

Meanwhile, recent research from Global Witness shows that UK imports of commodities like soy, beef, cocoa and palm oil contributed to the destruction of an area of forest overseas comparable in size to Cardiff, Liverpool, or Newcastle in just the past year. Since the Environment Act became law, the UK’s total imported deforestation footprint has exceeded 39,300 hectares— an area larger than the UK’s New Forest.

Forests are home to over 80% of the world's land-based wildlife and plants, and play a critical role in tackling climate change and supporting our health and wellbeing. Yet with an estimated 15 billion trees being cut down every year – mainly for commercial agriculture – forests are disappearing at an alarming rate. This destruction is unnecessary - plentiful food can be produced without destroying forests by supporting farmers to produce food in environmentally friendly ways.

WWF and Global Witness are calling on the UK Government to lead by example and enact the due diligence law that would help end deforestation – and for the public to take action by emailing the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed MP, to demand he implements the legislation.

Such a move would be backed by high numbers of Britons across the political spectrum: a staggering 87% of Lib Dem voters support the government implementing the law compared with 85% of Labour voters, 80% of Green Party voters, 76% of Conservative voters and 69% of Reform voters. Older people were more likely to support the measure, with 80% of those aged 75 and over in favour, although all age groups showed majority support. While support for the measure was high, only one in five (22%) Britons were aware that UK supermarkets sell everyday products linked to deforestation.

The country where the UK has the biggest annual deforestation footprint is Brazil, which will play host to the COP30 climate conference in November with a particular focus on the role of forests. With the UK Government aiming to show global leadership on the climate crisis, this is a potential source of embarrassment at the summit.

WWF is also calling for the UK Government extend due diligence measures to the financial services sector and introduce core environmental standards for all food sold in and imported to the UK so that the food in our shopping baskets is not contributing to deforestation. The charity believes it is time to rethink the targeting of the UK’s international funding commitments on climate and nature, to focus on tackling the drivers of deforestation such as supporting countries in transitioning to sustainable production.

David Walsh, head of public affairs at WWF-UK, said:

“It is astonishing that we are still importing food into the UK that is linked to illegal deforestation. If the UK government is serious about being a global climate leader, it needs to act quickly and bring into force long-awaited measures to cut deforestation out of our food supply chains.

“Our findings show there is overwhelming public support, regardless of age or political persuasion, for the government to step in and help UK consumers buy deforestation-free food.

“Forests are home to 80% of the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity – there is simply no way we can fight the climate crisis and species extinction if we don’t stop deforestation.”

Anna Gelderd, Labour MP for South East Cornwall and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Deforestation, said:

“The evidence is clear: wherever they are in the UK and whichever party they support, most people want the Government to take action to protect the world’s precious forests.

“The Environment Act was passed more than three years ago. Now a Labour Government can finally put this law into effect to establish a due diligence system for products entering the UK from illegally deforested areas.

“I look forward to working with the Environment Secretary to make sure a strong and effective law gets put into effect as soon as possible.”

Alexandria Reid, Forests Campaign lead at Global Witness said:

“The British public has spoken - they do not want their shopping to contribute to the destruction of some of the world’s most precious forests. With COP30 in the Amazon on the horizon, the UK government has a choice: lead the change by enforcing its own due diligence law, or arrive in Brazil empty-handed and complicit. The law is there. The public backs it. Now ministers must act.”

ENDS

Polling results:

More in Common deforestation polling for WWF and Global Witness

Fieldwork: 28 - 31 March 2025, N = 2,081 GB adults