Switzerland could become the first European country to ban artificial pesticides in a June 13 referendum.

Switzerland could become the first European country to ban artificial pesticides.

On June 13th a referendum will take place, and backers hope it will trigger similar moves elsewhere.

They want the country to ban the use of products made by agro-chemical giants such as Swiss firm Syngenta and Germany’s Bayer and BASF.

Campaigners say artificial products cause serious health problems and reduce biodiversity.

But manufacturers insist their pesticides are rigorously regulated and that crop yields would slump without them.

Another vote on the same day aims to improve the quality of Switzerland’s drinking water and food.

It would stop direct subsidies to farmers who use artificial pesticides and antibiotics in livestock.

If adopted, the proposals give farmers up to 10 years to make the transition.

And would allow Switzerland to become a leader in organic food and drink production.

Roland Lenz is a Swiss wine maker:

“Our drink water will sometime in the future, 20 or 30 years, be pure again, our soil would be fertile again and we would have less dependence on foreign countries”.

The clean water initiative also wants farmers to stop using imported animal feed, and restrict the numbers of cows, pigs and chickens in Switzerland.

The Swiss Farmers Union says many of its members feel their way of life is under siege.

Dominic Haab, runs a dairy farm outside Zurich:

“Our production will go rapidly down, we won’t have any Swiss chicken meat, we won’t have any Swiss pig meat and the result would be there will be much more import, much more food would come from outside countries into Switzerland.”

The country has been divided by the unusually bitter debate over the initiatives.

And according to recent polls, the votes look set to be close.

Royal Dutch Shell will seek ways to accelerate its energy transition strategy and deepen carbon emission cuts following a landmark Dutch court ruling last month, CEO Ben van Beurden said on Wednesday, a move that will likely lead to a dramatic shrinking of its oil and gas business.

Shell looks set to dramatically shrink its oil and gas business, after its CEO Ben van Beurden said Wednesday that the company will look for ways to cut emissions and accelerate an energy transition.

The comments come after a landmark ruling in a Dutch court last month.

Shell plans to appeal the ruling that ordered it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels, which is significantly faster than its current plans.

But van Beurden said the court ruling applies immediately and cannot be suspended before the appeal.

Earlier this year, Shell set out one of the sector’s most ambitious climate strategies.

It has a target to cut the carbon intensity of its products by 20% by 2030, by 45% by 2035 and by 100% by 2050 from 2016 levels.

The court ruling called on Shell to cut its absolute carbon emissions, a move van Beurden had previously rejected.

He said that would force Shell to scale back its oil and gas business, which accounts for the vast majority of its revenue.

Analysts have said the ruling could lead to a 12% decline in the company’s energy output, including a sharp drop in oil and gas sales.

Shell, which is the world’s top oil and gas trader, has said its carbon emissions peaked in 2018, while its oil output peaked in 2019 and was set to drop by 1% to 2% per year.

The ruling by the court in The Hague could trigger action against energy companies around the world.

Miner Vale SA will settle in advance liabilities of around US$2.5 billion related to the project finance for the Nacala logistic corridor (CLN) that serves a coal mine in Mozambique, the company said in a securities filing on Tuesday.

With the payment, scheduled for June 22, Vale said it will have fulfilled all the conditions for completion of its purchase of Mitsui & Co Ltd’s stake in the Moatize mine and the logistics corridor.

Payment was necessary as the project finance conditions did not allow Mitsui to sell its stake, Vale’s press office explained.

Brazil’s Vale announced in January that it was buying out minority stake partner, Japan’s Mitsui & Co, in the Mozambique mine and port project, ahead of selling the loss-making asset as it works to become carbon neutral by 2050.

“With the simplification of governance and asset management, Vale continues the process of responsible divestment of its participation in the coal business, based on preserving the operational continuity of the Moatize mine and CLN,” Vale said on Tuesday.

With the closing of the acquisition of Mitsui’s stake, Vale said it will start consolidating the Moatize mine and CLN in its financial statements.

According to the company, its EBITDA will no longer be burdened with costs related to debt service, investment in maintenance of operations and others charges that in 2020 impacted its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization by about $300 million.