EU consumption is a key driver of global deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is a landmark response: only products proven deforestation-free, legally produced, and traceable to plot level may enter or leave the EU market.

Given the EU’s market power, effective implementation of the regulation could reshape global supply chains – but only if ambition is sustained. This policy brief shows measures to strengthen the effects of the EUDR. Specifically, it suggests to: (1) build enforcement capacity in EU Member States through staffing and training; (2) support operators and enable civil society oversight via robust compliance tools and open data; (3) ensure global legitimacy by assisting smallholders financially and technically; (4) expand scope to other ecosystems and commodities, using review clauses as levers; and (5) embed the EUDR in a broader policy framework that also addresses financial, infrastructural, and consumption-driven factors of ecosystem destruction.