Climate Adaptation
France Nears Ease on Insecticide Ban That Saves Bees
- National Assembly backs partially lifting neonicotinoids ban
- Exemption would apply to beet seed coatings until 2023
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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France moved a step closer to partially lifting a ban on insecticides blamed for killing bees, highlighting the difficulties in balancing environmental concerns with helping struggling farmers.
Two years after the European Union widened a ban on neonicotinoids, the French National Assembly on Tuesday voted to approve using the chemicals coated on sugar-beet seeds for four months a year through mid-2023. The move comes as farmers suffered heavy losses from a crop virus spread by a pest that neonicotinoids help control, at a time when low prices hurt incomes.