Overview
- Using the total applied toxicity (TAT) metric, researchers found global pesticide harm increased from 2013 to 2019, including rises for pollinators (13%), fish (27%), and terrestrial arthropods (43%).
- Most nations are off track to halve pesticide risk by 2030 under the UN biodiversity target, with the study projecting only Chile would meet the goal without major policy shifts.
- TAT concentrates in a narrow set of drivers: roughly 76–83% stems from fruits and vegetables, corn, soybean, cereals, and rice, and about 53–68% comes from China, Brazil, the United States, and India.
- The indicator weights use by toxicity benchmarks averaged from seven major regulators, covering 625 pesticides across eight organism groups and providing a consistent global baseline the UN has adopted.
- Rising toxicity reflects both greater application volumes and substitution toward more toxic compounds, with pyrethroids flagged for risks to fish and aquatic invertebrates, neonicotinoids for pollinators, and glyphosate contributing via large use.