Following last week's episode on international law, we thought it might be a good idea to introduce you to the idea of binding (compulsory) laws on deforestation. The European Union, better known as the 'EU', is a great case study for how laws can be imposed on a multi-state level in a more effective way. Of course the concept of the EU is very complex so the episode starts off with some of the basics about how it works and then we get into the current EU deforestation law that has been making waves in the media across the 27 member states. We also briefly discussed the idea of planned obsolesce — this sixteen year old YouTube video about it is still relevant today.

While we may have done our best to cover all the new and complex terms used in this episode, we didn't get to explain them all:

Globalisation/Globalization — The speedup of movements and exchanges (of human beings, goods, and services, capital, technologies or cultural practices) all over the planet. (Read more about the 'dark side' of it here).

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — The layout to achieve a better and more sustainable world for all by 2030. These goals are a call for action to address a series of global challenges, such as: poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, and justice.

(Legally) Binding — Rules that are passed down by a controlling authority that have real legal force and carry consequences of punishment if they are not followed.

Hard Law — Legal obligations that are binding on the parties involved and which can be legally enforced before a court.

Soft Law — Guidelines of behaviour, such as those provided by treaties not yet in force, resolutions of the United Nations, or international conferences, that are not binding in themselves but are more than mere statements of political aspiration.

Bert Keirsbilck is a full professor of Law at the Faculty of Law and Criminology of KU Leuven. He lectures in Commercial Law, EU Law and European Economic Law in Brussels, Leuven and Kortrijk. He is a co-director of Consumer Competition Market (CCM). Bert is a co-author of 'Commercial Practices and Consumer Contracts' (in Dutch) and a co-editor of the CCM series. He is a member of the editorial board of DAOR, DCCR and TEP and serves as a member of the Faculty's doctoral and culture committees (2020-2024). Recent research focuses on sustainable production and consumption, circular economy and servitisation.

Salma Nour is a fellow WWF Youth Team member and a law student at KU Leuven.

**Sponsored by the WWF Belgium in collaboration with DGD (Direction générale Coopération au développement et Aide humanitaire).