Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcasts.

In this podcast, we'll talk about the European Commission's plan to slash in half the use of chemical pesticides and reduce the risk associated with them by 2030, a proposal that's causing divide among politicians, farmers and environmentalists.

Stay with us.

The Romans and Greeks already used chemical methods to protect their crops, but nowadays,

plant protection products are indispensable for food production. But what exactly are they? Essentially, they are pesticides used to

protect plants and crops from pests, diseases and weeds, helping farmers grow more food on less land.

The problem is they can also pose serious risks to both the environment and our health.

And citizens want them off their plates, out of public parks and out of their natural environment.

And truth is, despite EU pesticide laws being among the strictest in the world,

scientists and citizens are increasingly concerned about the build-up of

their residues and metabolites in our natural environment.

That's why, in line with the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy, the EU set

itself a double target, a 50% reduction in both the overall use of chemical plant protection

products and the risks they entail, and a 50% reduction in the the overall use of chemical plant protection products and the risks they

entail, and a 50% reduction in the use of the more hazardous ones by 2030.

To achieve this, in June 2022, the European Commission proposed a regulation on the sustainable

use of plant protection products that would replace the former directive and be

directly applicable in all EU countries. It's part of a nature protection package, which also

includes a proposal for legally binding targets on nature restoration. Now, what will change

if it goes through? Here's Vivienne Alley from the European Parliamentary Research Service.

Well, for the first time, the proposal would introduce legally binding targets at both EU

and national level.

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