At the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada, in 2022, nations committed to reducing the risks associated with pesticide use in agriculture by 50% by 2030. A new study by a research team from RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, published in the journal Science, reveals that this global target is now under serious threat. Using a novel analytical method, the researchers assessed trends in pesticide toxicity worldwide and found that current trajectories fall far short of the 2030 goal. The study concludes that immediate, coordinated action across nearly all countries is essential to reverse the trend and meet the UN commitment.