Ecology

Before they are put on the market, pesticides go through an approval process in which their impacts on human health and the environment are tested. But their indirect effects on food chains and biodiversity receive little attention, neither do the effects of pesticide mixtures that are hard to predict.

The European Union is one of the world’s biggest markets for pesticides. Policies to reduce their use have not been very successful so far. The lack of standardized data makes monitoring and comparing countries difficult.

The global pesticide market is growing – and there are only a few corporations that are dividing it up among themselves. They are increasingly investing in countries in the Global South, where pesticides are less strictly regulated.

Parts of global crop production are lost to pests and plant pathogens each year. Pesticides have been designed to prevent these yield losses – but they also give rise to new problems.

More and more highly toxic pesticides are being used in agriculture worldwide, although the consequences for our ecosystem are serious.

The EU is the largest pesticide export market in the world, now investing more and more in countries of the Global South, where EU companies are allowed to export pesticides banned on their own due to their harmful effects on human health and the environment. A longstanding demand of international civil society calls for laws that effectively ban these toxic exports.

The situation in the energy sector has led to national strategies that often conflict with the policies of neighbours and allies, and at the same time to a significant move away from clean energy sources. In other words, we have a "dirty nationalism", writes Martin Keim.

The technical problems with international rail in Europe are quite well understood. But are there ways to improve the situation while not challenging the fundamental status quo? Ways where, at the border, some basic changes could improve matters for international railway travellers?

In June 2022, the European Commission presented a new regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products. This regulation is a long awaited response to the insufficient results of the Sustainable Use of Pesticide Directive (SUD) that framed the use of pesticides since 2009. Conclusions from many reports, including a report from the EU Court of Auditors, have shown that there had been very little progress in reducing use and risks for the environment and human health of pesticides. With 75% of food production depending on pollination, the urgency of the situation is alarming and a strong response is needed. Here, we will have a quick look at this regulation and check if the CAP Strategic Plans can provide good tools to help reach the ambition of the text.

The Inflation Reduction Act is seen as an expression of climate pragmatism by some and a Faustian bargain with the fossil fuel industry by others. What exactly is it?