The original proposal, put forward by her European Commission as part of the European Union's green transition, "has become a symbol of polarisation," she told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
Noting that the plan -- to halve chemical pesticide use in the EU by the end of the decade -- had also stalled in discussions in the parliament and in the European Council representing EU member countries, von der Leyen said she would ask her commission "to withdraw this proposal".
The pesticide issue is just one of a long list of grievances that have prompted a mass protest movement by EU farmers, who in recent weeks have used tractors to block key roads to complain of shrinking income and rising production costs.
With far-right and anti-establishment parties -- which are predicted to make significant gains in June's European elections -- latching onto the farmers' movement, the environment debate has turned politically explosive.
Last week, 1,300 tractors clogged the area around an EU summit in Brussels, forcing their revolt to the top of the leaders' agenda and resulting in a number of other concessions, especially in France.
Protests were continuing on Tuesday, including in the Netherlands -- and with demonstrations called for outside the parliament in Strasbourg.
"Many of them feel pushed into a corner," von der Leyen acknowledged, adding: "Our farmers deserve to be listened to."
At the same time, though, she emphasised that European agriculture "needs to move to a more sustainable model of production" that was more environmentally friendly and less harmful to soil quality.
"Perhaps we have not made that case convincingly," she said.
- Building 'trust' -
To get there, von der Leyen said "trust" had to be built between farmers and policymakers, and she pointed to consultative dialogue Brussels has started with a broad range of representatives in the agri-food sector.
Von der Leyen said that, while she wanted to withdraw the proposed law on pesticides, "the topic stays" even if "a different approach is needed".
She suggested that the commission could come up with a revised legislative proposal at a later date -- an initiative that would likely fall to the next commission resulting from EU elections taking place in June.
Von der Leyen has not yet said whether she intends to seek a new mandate at the head of that commission.
Some European leaders welcomed the shelving of the pesticide legislation.
"Long live the farmers, whose tractors are forcing Europe to take back the madness imposed by the multinationals and the left," said Italy's far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
He spoke as groups of Italian farmers rallied at the edges of Rome ahead of a planned move into the Italian capital as early as Thursday.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo hailed von der Leyen's announcement, saying it was "crucial we keep our farmers on board to a more sustainable future of farming".
The proposed pesticide concession follows another the commission unveiled last week, to give farmers wider exemptions on rules that required them to keep parcels of land fallow.
France has also moved to promise more cash to its farmers, ease rules imposed on them and protect them from what they see as unfair competition.
The pledges have been enough for two of the country's main farmer unions to suspend protests.
But farmers in other EU countries including Italy, Spain and Greece say they will continue to mobilise.
EU unveils 2040 climate goal under pressure from farmer protests
Brussels (AFP) Feb 6, 2024 -
The European Union on Tuesday unveils its climate targets for 2040 and a roadmap for the next stage of its energy transition, with the bloc reeling from a farmer revolt against green reforms just months before European elections.
In a sign of how politically fraught the issue has become, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen gave key ground to the farmer movement on Tuesday by deciding to bury a plan to halve chemical pesticide use by the end of this decade.
The commission's original proposal "has become a symbol of polarisation", she acknowledged to the European Parliament, noting that the legislation had stalled due to divisions between EU lawmakers and member countries.
The concession, made hours before the 2040 climate announcement, came as farmers converged outside the parliament building in another protest over shrinking incomes and rising production costs.
The 27-nation European Union has already committed to a 55-percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, as it seeks to become carbon neutral by 2050.
For the next milestone, 2040, working documents suggest the European Commission will aim for a drop of 90 percent, compared to 1990 levels.
But this time Brussels has to factor in growing discontent -- illustrated by the snowballing farmer protests of recent weeks -- over the social and economic impact of its much-vaunted Green Deal.
Far-right and anti-establishment parties have latched onto the farmers' movement and are predicted to make big gains in June elections to choose the members of the next EU assembly.
That vote will also lead to a new commission late this year. Von der Leyen has not yet said whether she intends to seek a new mandate at its helm.
There is a vocal backlash from some industries to the bloc's climate policies and several national leaders are now calling for a "pause" in new environmental rules.
The EU's climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, last month warned the bloc needed to stand by its climate ambition while "making sure our businesses stay competitive".
- 'Leave no one behind'-
Striking that balance is at the heart of a joint letter to Brussels, sent by 11 states including France, Germany and Spain, and seen by AFP.
Together they urge the commission to set an "ambitious EU climate target" for 2040.
But the states also call for a "fair and just transition" that should "leave no-one behind, especially the most vulnerable citizens".
The targets laid out on Tuesday will be a simple recommendation.
They will be accompanied by new post-2030 climate projections the commission was required to produce within six months of December's UN climate negotiations (COP28).
The next European Commission will be tasked with turning the outline into proposed legislation ahead of next year's international climate summit (COP30).
The bloc's 2040 targets are expected to rely in part on the capture and storage of ambitious volumes of carbon dioxide -- incensing climate campaigners who criticise the technologies as untested and want to see gross emissions-cut pledges instead.
Even so, the plan would require a sizeable effort from every sector of the economy -- from power generation to farming, which accounts for 11 percent of EU greenhouse gas emissions.
- 'Very ambitious' -
Some of the strongest resistance to tougher environmental action comes from the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), from which von der Leyen hails.
The EPP's Peter Liese says a more cautious stance is justified.
"It's easy to fix a figure," he said, but as the bloc has been implementing its existing 2030 target, "we see more and more how ambitious it is".
Liese considers a 90-percent emissions cut to be a "very ambitious" target for 2040 and stresses the need for "the right conditions, the right policy framework".
Elisa Giannelli, of the E3G climate advocacy group, urged the EU to keep the social impact of its climate policies front of mind.
"Getting this wrong," she said, "would allow conservative and populist voices to set the direction of the next steps."
The United Nations climate change organisation said in November the world was not acting with sufficient urgency to curb greenhouse gas emissions and thus limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial emissions.
With temperatures soaring and 2023 expected to be recorded as the warmest year so far in human history, scientists say the pressure on world leaders to curb planet-heating greenhouse gas pollution has never been more urgent.
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