Summary
Demand-side regulations, such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), can be powerful catalysts for change when they send clear, credible, and consistently enforced market signals. However, such regulations only drive systemic change if they are backed by similarly credible, consistent enforcement; private-sector efforts alone will not shift entrenched national systems. When combined with well-targeted support, they can help to drive reforms that extend well beyond compliance requirements, contributing to improved forest governance, greater transparency, and more sustainable production systems. In a context of less development assistance, robust implementation of these regulations represents one of the most cost-effective ways in which to catalyze reform and target limited donor resources where they can have greatest impact. Currently, with the EUDR at risk of being renegotiated for the third time, it is important for the EU to make no further changes to the regulation, to bring it fully into application on schedule and, once it is in place, to enforce it rigorously so that the momentum for change in producer countries is not lost.