Global Biodiversity Loss – Recommendations for Nature-friendly Consumption

Published on November 5, 2025

The high consumption of raw materials by the European Union (EU) is responsible for the loss of biodiversity across the globe, especially in the Global South. A new study commissioned by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, “Towards nature-friendly consumption,” explores the impacts of soy, palm oil, and shrimp consumption and provides recommendations for nature-friendly EU policies.

The case of shrimp, shows how the expansion of intensive aquaculture leads to the destruction of valuable mangrove forests. Over the last decade EU shrimp consumption has increased by 60% with 404,000 tons of farmed shrimp imported into the EU in 2023. The cultivation of soy, which is used mainly for animal feed, is just as problematic. EU soy imports drive land conversion and were responsible for the loss of 125,000 hectares of natural ecosystems in Brazil in 2022 alone. In the Global South, especially in biodiversity-rich regions such as savannas and the Brazilian Cerrado, a total of 4.8 million hectares of soy fields is required to meet EU import demand – an area almost the size of Slovakia. In the third case of palm oil, cultivation in tropical rainforests threatens the habitats of numerous species and causes excessive CO2 emissions through the drainage of peatlands. Palm oil cultivation for EU consumption requires about 1.5 million hectares of land.

The study shows that the severe impact of European consumption on biodiversity is the result of political and economic decisions—which also offer leverage for a shift toward nature-friendly consumption. It demonstrates how the EU can significantly reduce its biodiversity footprint through coordinated measures aimed at global justice. To do so, regulatory, fiscal, marked-based, voluntary, and trade policy instruments should be combined.

The study recommends, for example, an effective and socially just implementation of the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products (Regulation (EU) 2023/1115) and the timely adoption of the EU Green Claims Directive. Subsidies that are harmful to nature should be abolished or reformed and replaced with incentives for sustainable consumption practices, such as those encouraging a plant-based diet. Public procurement offers significant leverage that should be used to establish obligatory biodiversity criteria. Last but not least, measures to reduce overconsumption and promote sufficiency should be taken as a basic prerequisite for a good life within the planetary boundaries.