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Controversial herbicide glyphosate Checked and undesirable

As of: 23.06.2021 12:55 p.m.

A test report commissioned by the EU does not consider the weed killer glyphosate to be carcinogenic or dangerous to the genetic makeup. Nevertheless, the drug will probably disappear from the market in Europe.

From Michael Heussen, WDR

The specialist authorities from France, Sweden, Hungary and the Netherlands come to terms with glyphosate to a clear result : The pesticide is not carcinogenic, it does not damage the genetic material and it is neither dangerous for human organs nor for the hormonal balance. The four national authorities had assessed the safety of glyphosate on behalf of the European Commission on the basis of existing study results. You confirm the findings of test authorities around the world.

Nevertheless, it can be assumed that the drug will disappear from the market sooner or later. “Glyphosate is socially dead,” said a farmer official in the run-up to the farmers’ day in Berlin. The public had long since made its judgment – even with solid scientific arguments, the majority of consumers could not be convinced of the harmlessness of the substance. Since 2015, the judgment of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which belongs to the World Health Organization (WHO), has been hovering over the evaluation process like a sword of Damocles: Glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic”.

“Very low probability”

It is hardly surprising that the glyphosate producer Bayer sees it differently and welcomes the positive study results that have now been published. The chemical giant, which with the US-American Monsanto group also took over its glyphosate-containing bestseller Roundup, also rejects another argument – that the herbicide threatens biodiversity.

“Evaluated scientific studies as well as publicly available research reports show only a very low probability that the proper use of glyphosate-containing pesticides has indirect effects on the biodiversity of most food chains,” says the company. For example, the effects on microorganisms living in the soil, worms, birds, pollinating insects such as honey bees, frogs and other amphibians as well as fish have been investigated, according to a Bayer spokesman. So could it happen that glyphosate may also be used in the European Union beyond the approval period that expires at the end of 2022? Much speaks against it.

The Bayer Group sees itself confirmed by the current audit at EU level. Image: dpa

Federal government expects glyphosate to be phased out by 2024

The Federal Environment Ministry, led by Svenja Schulze (SPD), firmly expects that no more glyphosate-containing pesticides may be used from January 1, 2024 at the latest after the end of the one-year transition period. “In agreement with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, we continue to assume that the Federal Government (…) has decided to phase out glyphosate use in accordance with EU law,” it says WDR -Inquiry . About the corresponding amending regulation the Federal Council will decide next Friday. Until the end of the transition period, the application “may only take place if there are no alternative options, for example in the case of weeds that are difficult to control or areas at risk of erosion” – so it is in the voting proposal. Its use on areas that serve the general public, as well as in house and allotment gardens, is completely forbidden.

No further approval expected at EU level

Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner (CDU) has also emphasized several times, a spokeswoman for her ministry told the WDR “It cannot be assumed that there will still be a majority after 2022 in favor of an extension of the glyphosate approval at EU level”.

In 2017, the dispute over glyphosate between the ministries almost led to a coalition crisis in Berlin. Because the former Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt (CSU) voted “yes” in the responsible EU committee in Brussels , although the then Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks (SPD) strictly against an extension of the approval for glyphosate was. The different evaluations of the current incumbents are not so obvious. But in the letters of reply to the questions of the WDR There are differences: “Glyphosate-containing pesticides are important for soil-conserving and water-saving cultivation of arable land, especially in areas prone to erosion,” writes the Klöckner spokeswoman. Schulze’s spokesman, on the other hand, emphasizes the dangers for biodiversity: “As a total herbicide, glyphosate destroys all plants indiscriminately and thus destroys the food and livelihood for many insect species such as butterflies and, indirectly, for field birds such as the skylark.”

EU assessment expected in 2022

At the European level, the European Food Safety Authority EFSA and the European Chemicals Agency ECHA will start public participation at the beginning of September – results are expected in one year.

Bayer AG continues to rely on the controversial herbicide. Europe does not play a major role as a sales market. The agricultural countries in North and South America are more important. In the USA around ten billion euros have to be paid in the context of a settlement to 96,000 plaintiffs who blame glyphosate for their cancer, and billions more will be due for future plaintiffs . Bayer therefore wants to limit its use for private customers – but Roundup should continue to be used in large-scale agriculture. Only the warning notices should be made clearly more visible. glyphosate The weed killer glyphosate was developed by Bayer subsidiary Monsanto and marketed under the brand name Roundup. The herbicide is also manufactured by other companies, as the patent has expired for years. Bayer is faced with around 9,300 plaintiffs because of the weed killer in the United States, as glyphosate is suspected of being carcinogenic. This is based on the assessment of the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC), which classified the active ingredient as “probably carcinogenic” in 2015. The Bayer Group always emphasizes that glyphosate is safe when used properly and relies on a large number of scientific studies.

At the end of 2017, the EU Commission extended the approval of glyphosate by five years and now has to make a new decision. A first round of talks is to take place in September and then the EU member states will be involved. Against this background, the EU Commission commissioned the assessment group for glyphosate (consisting of the testing authorities in France, Hungary, the Netherlands and Sweden) to prepare a draft of the risk assessment. This 11,000-page draft was submitted to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in mid-June 2021. A final recommendation from EFSA can be expected in the second half of 2022 after the submission has been examined

Sales increase The chemical industry is raging

As of: 06/09/2021 3:54 p.m.

The third largest German branch of industry has reached the pre-crisis level again. After growth in the first quarter, the chemical industry raised its forecast for the year. The pharmaceutical business in particular is doing better than expected. Despite the rise in raw material prices and delivery problems, the German chemical industry continued on its growth path in the first three months of the year. As announced by the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), the sector increased its sales by 1.1 percent to 51.3 billion euros compared to the same period in the previous year. Production increased by 0.8 percent. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, sales growth was even 3.6 percent.

Again above pre-crisis levels

With the sustained upward trend, the third largest German industrial sector – after the car and machine builders – has already compensated for the corona dent. Production and sales are now back above pre-crisis levels. Above all, exports to EU countries increased. In addition, there was the increasing demand from Asia. The chemical industry was also able to grow in the German home market – thanks to higher prices.

“Hope for a good year in chemistry”

VCI President Christian Kullmann, who is also the head of the chemical company Evonik, was delighted with the development. “The first few months give hope for a good year in chemistry,” he said. “The demand for chemicals and pharmaceuticals is increasing.” The industry association is now even more optimistic about the year as a whole. For 2021, the VCI predicts sales growth of eight percent and an increase in production of 4.5 percent. So far, a plus of five percent in sales and an increase of three percent in production had been forecast.

“The demand for chemicals and pharmaceuticals is increasing.” – VCI President Christian Kullmann Image: picture alliance / dpa

Price increases and corona vaccines as drivers

Strong price increases for the chemical and pharmaceutical products manufactured should make a significant contribution to this. The association is anticipating 3.5 percent higher prices for the year as a whole. The chemical industry is also benefiting from the corona vaccine boom. There are numerous suppliers for the vaccines from BioNTech, Moderna & Co, including Evonik and Wacker Chemie. You act as a technology supplier or as a contract manufacturer.

Worry about delivery bottlenecks

Only supply bottlenecks for materials and intermediate products are dampening the good mood in the chemical industry. “They are now affecting the operational processes of every second company,” warned VCI President Kullmann. However, the situation should ease again in the course of the year. In March, the blockade of the Suez Canal interrupted the supply chain from Asia in the chemical industry. Around 16 percent of chemical imports and 18 percent of exports take this route.

Huge green electricity demand for climate neutrality

In addition, the more stringent climate protection targets are making the industry difficult. “The way there remains in the fog”, said recently Wolfgang Große Entrup, General Manager of the VCI. “For the new goal, our industry needs more electricity than Germany currently consumes overall – as green electricity.” If the industry does not get competitive prices for electricity from renewable energies, it will not manage the energy transition. In spring 2020, the association presented a study in which it considers climate neutrality by 2050 to be technically feasible. For this, however, enormous additional amounts of green electricity are required. By the mid-2030s, the chemical industry’s electricity needs will increase more than tenfold. In addition, the electricity price would have to drop to four cents per kilowatt hour, demanded the VCI. The industry currently pays between eight and ten cents per kilowatt hour.

BASF is pushing ahead

VCI President Kullmann considers the renewed tightening of climate protection targets and the more rapid increase in CO2 prices called for by the Greens in their election manifesto as “irresponsible”. At the annual chemistry conference of the “Handelsblatt”, he warned that those who shackle the industry put the ax to their transformation. Good politics are based on incentives and not on bans. BASF is one of the first chemical companies to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero on a fixed date. The people of Ludwigshafen want to become climate neutral by 2050. Among other things, one should help huge wind farm in the North Sea that BASF is planning together with RWE . The plant with a capacity of two gigawatts is to supply the Ludwigshafen chemical site with green electricity from 2030.