The Commission, the EU executive, wants to commit the European Union to a halving of the use of chemical and "high-risk" pesticides by 2030, a draft document seen by Reuters and set to be published on May 20 showed. Beekeepers in western Europe have reported a fall in the number of bees and colony losses over the last 15 years, the European Food Safety Authority said. "We acknowledge calls for pesticide reductions and let's be clear - we are open to discuss targets," Geraldine Kutas, director general of the European Crop Protection Association, said. Organic food and farming organisation IFOAM is also pushing for more ambitious targets than the draft proposal - an 80% reduction in synthetic pesticides by 2030 and a total phase-out by 2035. The draft also includes a goal to plant three billion trees in the EU by 2030, to help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and make cities greener.

Source: Irish Independent May 14, 2020 16:07 UTC