Commission withdraws the Sustainable Use of Pesticides proposal
On 6 February 2024 the Commission announced it would withdraw the Sustainable Use Regulation proposal after farmer protests and a lack of a Council majority. In the causal graph this event weakens Decarbonization and climate-mitigation policy, a driver that weakens Global CO2 emissions per capita — a worsening welfare path.
Read the full account
On 6 February 2024 the Commission announced it would withdraw the Sustainable Use Regulation proposal after farmer protests and a lack of a Council majority. The file had been a Green Deal pesticide-reduction instrument. Withdrawal is a completed administrative act.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Ursula von der Leyen
PersonShared responsibility
responsibility level 0.55 · verified
The President announced the withdrawal as a political response to protests. The College formally withdrew the proposal.
Frans Timmermans
PersonHistorical/complex contribution
responsibility level 0.4 · verified
He owned the Green Deal parent programme; von der Leyen announced withdrawal in 2024 after he had left for Dutch politics.
Roberta Metsola
PersonHistorical/complex contribution
responsibility level 0.25 · verified
Farmer protests moved the House she chaired; the Commission, not the president, withdrew the proposal.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactCommission withdraws the Sustainable Use of Pesticides proposal
- weakensDriverDecarbonization and climate-mitigation policy
- weakensIndicators (3)Global CO2 emissions per capita
impact weight 0.4 · Effect from 6 February 2024 · verified
Withdrawing a pesticide-reduction statute reduces the coverage of the Green Deal’s agricultural mitigation tools after political reversal.
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.24 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.6)
Observed
4.73 tonnes CO2 per person per year · 2.43 above the normal line (2024)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 4.71 tonnes CO2 per person per year (2023) and 4.73 tonnes CO2 per person per year (2024).
20232024 Above normal = worse
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.2 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.5)
Observed
32.9 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean, population-weighted) · 27.9 above the normal line (2023)
Worse than normal3 readings, 2021–2023: fell from 33.2 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean, population-weighted) to 32.9 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean, population-weighted).
Above normal = worse
- Worse
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.16 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.4)
Observed
30% of electricity generation · 11 above the normal line (2023)
Better than normal6 readings, 2000–2023: rose from 18.9% of electricity generation to 30% of electricity generation.
Above normal = better
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.Reuters — EU executive to withdraw pesticide-cut lawIndependent reporting · High credibility · verified
- 2.President’s speech announcing withdrawal of the SUR proposalOfficial record · High credibility · verified
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- Actors (3)Ursula von der Leyen
- contributed toFactCommission withdraws the Sustainable Use of Pesticides proposal
- weakensDriverDecarbonization and climate-mitigation policy
- weakensIndicatorGlobal CO2 emissions per capita
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). Commission withdraws the Sustainable Use of Pesticides proposal. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/eu-sur-pesticide-proposal-withdrawn-2024
https://factrail.ai/facts/eu-sur-pesticide-proposal-withdrawn-2024
Accessed 16 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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