Most Countries Off Track for UN’s 2030 Pesticide Risk Reduction Goal

A new study warns that most countries are unlikely to meet the target set by the United Nations to reduce global pesticide risk by 50% by 2030. Researchers from RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau analysed pesticide-use data from 2013 to 2019 across 65 countries covering nearly 80% of global crop acreage.

Using a toxicity-based metric called Total Applied Toxicity (TAT), the team found that ecological toxicity from pesticides is rising globally. Only Chile is currently on track to meet the UN target. Meanwhile, the United States, Brazil, China and India together account for more than half of global pesticide toxicity.

The study also found that a small number of highly toxic chemicals drive much of the risk to ecosystems, particularly pollinating insects, fish and soil organisms.

Researchers suggest that restricting or replacing these high-risk pesticides could help countries move closer to the biodiversity protection goals agreed at the 15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference in 2022.

09-03-2026