Environmental activist ClientEarth sues Germany over pesticide use

Environmental activist charity ClientEarth launched a lawsuit against Germany on Friday to push Berlin to implement an EU law to limit the use of pesticides in agriculture, the group said on Friday.

The group said in a statement that Germany is not complying with the 2009 Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides. The EU law was supposed to be in place for the 27 members by 2011, but the reality was patchy implementation, the group said.

Insect populations are in decline globally and bee populations – a vital pollinator – are shrinking, which could threaten global food security. Pesticides are a known factor in these declines.

The European Commission tried to introduce a new law in 2022, the Sustainable Use Regulation, to replace the directive. The regulation aimed to halve pesticide use by 2030, but the proposal was dropped earlier this year after widespread protests by farmers.

The regulation would have been much stronger than the previous directive, with mandatory and directly applicable rules.

The lawsuit was filed at the Higher Administrative Court in Berlin-Brandenburg against the German government and the Ministry of Food and Culture.

(Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

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Pollution Processes Germany