Pesticides exacerbate climate change, NGO reports, urges action

LONDON (AFP) : An NGO has called for action from the United Kingdom government as it released a report stating that the use of pesticides in food production, which mainly come from fossil fuels, exacerbates climate change.

“Pesticides exacerbate the climate emergency throughout their life cycle,” from manufacture to disposal, Pesticide Action Network U.K. said.

“Unless we change our approach, the impacts of the climate emergency are expected to lead to an increase in pesticide use, which will create a vicious cycle between chemical dependency and worsening climate breakdown.”

Global food systems account for more than a third of greenhouse gas emissions, including from agriculture, according to the findings.

The group also said that major companies including ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron Phillips Chemical, manufacture pesticides or their chemical ingredients.

“Despite this, pesticide reduction as a solution to the climate crisis has largely been ignored,” the NGO said in the report published with Pesticide Collaboration, a grouping of fellow campaigners.

The agrochemical industry presents pesticide use as a “climate mitigation strategy,” the report said.

But such a strategy “perpetuates the myth,” that “continuous use of harmful chemicals is the only way to guarantee global food security while protecting precious habitats,” it said.

The NGO also said the controversial herbicide glyphosate was increasingly being used, comparing its overall impact to the carbon footprint of tens of thousands of long-haul flights from London to Sydney.

Britain has long vowed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 to help tackle climate change.

“The U.K. government must take action to transform agriculture in order to avoid the worst effects of today’s climate and nature crises,” the NGO said.

“Policies addressing climate change should, therefore, include a focus on pesticide reduction as a key strategy for tackling greenhouse gas emissions and improving the climate resilience of food and farming system.”