In four years, German farmers, gardeners, and landscapers will no longer be able to use the ubiquitous weedkiller Roundup.

Germany's Environment Ministry announced this week it will begin tapering use of the chemical glyphosate in 2020 in preparation for a total ban 3 years later. Austria along with 20 mayors in France also passed glyphosate bans earlier this year.

Glyphosate is the main chemical compound in the weedkiller Roundup. Roundup was developed by the agrochemical company Monsanto, which was purchased by German company Bayer in 2016.

Bayer publicly disagrees with the bans, saying: "Such a ban would ignore the overwhelming scientific assessments of competent authorities around the world that have determined for more than 40 years that glyphosate can be used safely."

Though the EPA says glyphosate doesn't cause cancer, the World Health Organization concluded in 2015 that it probably does.

Around 11,000 lawsuits against Bayer are pending, claiming glyphosate caused plaintiffs' cancer - most often, non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Three of those lawsuits have awarded the plaintiffs massive sums of money, including more than $2 billion to a California couple in May.

Read More:

• Germany to ban use of glyphosate from end of 2023 (Reuters)

• Bayer's Roundup Woes Deepen as Germany Bans Key Chemical (Wall Street Journal)

• Germany Aims to Ban Glyphosate Usage in Weedkillers (Bloomberg)