U sending huge quantities of banned, bee-killing pesticides to poorer countries, documents reveal

New investigation shows for first time the full scale of the EU’s trade in neonicotinoid chemicals it has branded a global threat to biodiversity and food security.
 

The European Union is exporting more than 10,000 tonnes of ‘bee killing’ neonicotinoid pesticides a year to poorer countries, despite having banned the use of these chemicals in its own fields to protect pollinators.
 

That is the key finding of a new investigation by Unearthed and Public Eye, which reveals for the first time the full scale of Europe’s continued trade in banned ‘neonic’ pesticides.
 

Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show that in 2021 EU companies issued plans to export more than 13,200 tonnes of banned insecticides containing around 2,930 tonnes of the neonicotinoid active ingredients thiamethoxam, imidacloprid or clothianidin.
 

This is the first time it has been possible to track a full year’s worth of these exports since the EU prohibited all outdoor use of these chemicals on its own farms in 2018.
 

Scientists and campaigners described the scale of the trade as “astonishing” and called for an immediate end to the EU’s “unacceptable and immoral” exports of pesticides banned for EU use.

Unearthed and Public Eye identified 17 companies involved in the export of banned neonics from the EU, with by far the largest exporter being the Swiss-headquartered, Chinese-owned pesticides giant Syngenta. Planned exports by Syngenta subsidiaries accounted for more than three quarters of the EU total, and included an export to Brazil of enough insecticide to spray the entire surface area of New Zealand. 
 

The overwhelming bulk of the EU’s banned neonic exports - 86% by weight - was destined for low- or middle-income countries (LMICs), where UN agencies say hazardous pesticide use tends to pose the greatest risks.

Veja na íntegra a notícia AQUI.

Fonte: Public Eye