From Denmark to Brussels: The Harmonised Pesticide Load Indicator (HPLI) as a model for risk-based eu pesticide policy and governance

The presentation examines the suitability of the Danish Pesticide Load Indicator (PLI) as a model for European pesticide policy and governance. The key points are as follows:

Structural failure of the HRI-1: The current harmonised European indicator is fundamentally flawed: based on sales volumes and arbitrary regulatory weightings recalculated retrospectively when authorisations change, it measures regulatory status rather than actual risk and promotes the appearance of progress rather than actual risk reduction.

The Danish PLI as a proven alternative: Deployed since 2013, the PLI differentiates products according to their hazard potential (environmental fate, ecotoxicity, human toxicity) and has enabled a 42% reduction in risk per hectare in Denmark, despite an increase in treatment frequency —a result that the HRI-1 is structurally incapable of demonstrating.

The HPLI, a harmonised adaptation for the EU: The Danish PLI cannot be transposed as it stands at European level. A series of methodological updates (standardisation at active substance level, cautious handling of missing data, absolute normalisation, statistical weighting) led to a Harmonised Pesticide Load Indicator (HPLI) that is reproducible and scientifically defensible.

Governance conditions for European implementation: The obstacles to adopting the HPLI are neither technical nor legal (the data infrastructure already exists under European law) but political. The presentation outlines two scenarios of ambition, ranging from the minimal replacement of the HRI-1 to integration into a sustainable use framework with binding targets.

The presentation highlights that the institutional conditions that enabled the Danish success have equivalents at EU level, but emphasises the need to link the indicator to a broader policy mix (taxation, agricultural advisory services, supply chain reform).