The European Commission aims to halve the use of pesticides within ten years. This emerges from a proposal to improve biodiversity, which will be published on May 20, along with the Green Deal Climate Plan.
The draft strategy for biodiversity also specifies that by 2030, at least a quarter of agricultural land must be managed organically. Additionally, three billion new trees must be planted by that time to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and to make cities greener. The share of "strictly protected" areas on land and at sea in the EU must also be increased.
In the newly leaked draft vision, it was not yet specified which pesticides are targeted or how the reduction should be applied. It refers to halving the use of "chemical" pesticides and "risky" pesticides.
With this step, the Commission wants to stop the mass extinction of bees, which are important for pollination. According to the European Food Safety Authority, beekeepers in Western Europe have reported a significant decline in bee colonies over the past 15 years.
In 2018, the European Parliament already limited the use of the world's most widely used pesticides, the so-called neonicotinoids, which may only be used in closed greenhouses. Many countries have still granted temporary exemptions for this.
Some European farming organizations and Members of the European Parliament fear that a comprehensive pesticide ban could lead to declining crop yields. They call on the European Commission to study the effects of a ban before setting targets.
On the other hand, the organization for organic food and farming IFOAM advocates for more ambitious targets than the current EU proposal and demands an 80 percent reduction of synthetic pesticides by 2030 and a complete ban by 2035.
Chemical companies such as Bayer will be heavily affected by a ban. Last year, Bayer earned more than 45 percent of its revenue from crop protection products and seeds. Bayer has significantly expanded through its acquisition of the American company Monsanto for $63 billion.