How Europe funds illegal Russian logging, and why timber sanctions matter

With the invasion of Ukraine ongoing, Bertie talks to Sam Lawson, Director of investigative NGO Earthsight, following a public letter from 120 NGOs calling for a boycott on Russian and Belarusian wood.

The public letter was led by Ukrainian environmental groups in response to the invasion, but Earthsight have been investigating illegal and unsustainable Russian and Belarusian logging for years. Their work has exposed major failings of EU, UK, and US law, and particularly of certifiers like FSC, SBP and PEFC. 

NOTE: this is a faster-moving story than we normally cover in our podcasts. Since recording this conversation on Tuesday 8th March, SBP and FSC have both announced that they are longer certifying Russian wood.

Further reading: 

·         The campaign backed by 120 NGOs to boycott Russian and Belarusian wood
·         Russia’s timber oligarchs – new Earthsight analysis
·         Earthsight’s ‘Taiga King’ investigations exposing illegal Russian logging for European export
·         IKEA’s House of Horrors – Earthsight’s investigation into IKEA’s illegal Russian supply chain
·         2020 investigation by The Telegraph exposing unsustainable Russian logging in Drax’s supply chain

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