Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to tackle deforestation in (a) Malaysia and (b) other countries that participate in deforestation, while protecting the economies of those countries.

The Government is determined to do all it can to halt and reverse forest loss, and this was a priority for COP26. The Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, setting out a commitment to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, has now been endorsed by 142 countries, including Malaysia. This will help to drive forward national action to protect forests. The UK has committed up to £1.5 billion over five years to support such action to protect and restore forests in developing countries.

The response to deforestation needs to balance economic interests and environmental protection. This is the approach taken in the Forest and Agriculture Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue, which was launched by the UK Presidency at COP26. The dialogue establishes a new partnership between the largest producers and consumers of agricultural commodities, such as palm oil, soya and cocoa, and aims to build collaboration to protect forests while promoting sustainable trade. Malaysia is one of the 28 participating countries.