The Danish government has stepped forward to ask the European Commission to alter a law that allows EU companies to export pesticides banned in the bloc.
Denmark’s Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke said he would raise the issue during the next Environment Council meeting, scheduled for Oct. 14, in an attempt to break a four-year deadlock on the matter.
“We have a political and moral obligation to protect human health and the environment not only in our own country and continent, but globally,” said Heunicke.
“It is paradoxical that we have an EU ban on a number of dangerous pesticides, but we continue to allow the export of the same chemicals to countries outside the EU.”
Despite committing to an export ban in 2020, the EU has faced delays and industry pressure fighting the measure.
In April, Brussels-based coalition Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe urged the European Commission to follow up on its pledge, arguing a ban would have minimal repercussions on the bloc’s economy while significantly curbing the spread of harmful chemicals.
“It cannot be ruled out that the production of hazardous pesticides may also have consequences for European nature and the aquatic environment, but first and foremost, we must not contribute to people and the environment in countries outside the EU being exposed to hazardous substances that we will not allow here,” said Heunicke.
“It is irresponsible and unethical. That’s why I believe we must put an end to exports.”
SPREADING GLOBALLY
In 2022, 81,615 tonnes of 41 hazardous pesticides were exported for agricultural use from EU companies to third countries, according to PAN Europe.
Meanwhile, the EU prohibited all outdoor use of these chemicals on its own farms in 2018 to protect pollinators.
A separate report released by the European Environment Agency last year found that pesticide use is still widespread in Europe and on the rise in some countries, including Germany, France, and Austria.
EU lawmakers already failed to reach an agreement on a bill that aimed to reduce the use of pesticides, the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR), with the European Commission withdrawing the proposal in February.
Introduced in 2022 with the goal of reducing by 50% the use of chemical and particularly hazardous pesticides by 2030, the SUR was one of the pillars of the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy to expedite the transition to a more sustainable food system.
Pesticides are regarded as one of the key drivers of insect species loss. The US Environmental Protection Agency found in 2023 that chemicals are threatening with extinction more than one in 10 endangered fish, insects, crustaceans, plants, and birds across the country.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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