Reducing emissions from fertilizers: Opportunities and Challenges
During the last 75 years, production, and consumption of mineral fertilizers, particularly nitrogen ones, contributed enormously to achieve food security but also as much as 5% to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To meet the Paris Agreement 1.5 °C global warming target, emissions from fertiliz...
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| Format: | Informe técnico |
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CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform
2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169585 |
| _version_ | 1855515555352543232 |
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| author | CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform |
| author_browse | CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform |
| author_facet | CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform |
| author_sort | CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | During the last 75 years, production, and consumption of mineral fertilizers, particularly nitrogen ones, contributed enormously to achieve food security but also as much as 5% to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To meet the Paris Agreement 1.5 °C global warming target, emissions from fertilizer production and use must be effectively curtailed. Potential reduction in the emissions during the production of nitrogen fertilizers can be achieved by using renewable wind and photovoltaic electricity to produce green hydrogen by alkaline water electrolysis, polymer electrolyte membrane
water electrolysis, or solid oxide electrolysis cells, which in turn can be used to synthesize green ammonia by the Haber-Bosch process. Combining nitrogen and green hydrogen with a renewable energy-driven N reduction reaction rather than the Haber-Bosch process can further reduce emissions. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the GHG when N fertilizers are applied to soil. Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crop production constitutes the single most effective fertilizer use strategy to reduce N2O emissions. Applying the right amount of fertilizer through the right source and employing
the right method of application at the right time of plant demand always improves NUE. If farmers are applying high rates of heavily subsidized fertilizer nitrogen, optimizing the rates has the greatest mitigation potential because it avoids the emissions from both the production and use phase of fertilizers. On-the-go variable rate fertilizer management in large highly mechanized farms in developed countries and site-specific nitrogen management based on low-tech tools in smallholder farms in developing countries leads to reduced N2O emissions by avoiding N application more
than the requirement of the crops. Due to high cost and inconsistency in the expected returns of enhanced efficiency
fertilizers such as polymer-coated urea and urea stabilized with nitrification and urease, their widespread adoption
for mitigating N2O emissions is limited. Integrated management of organic and inorganic nitrogen fertilizers, biochar
application, and self-fertilizing crops also have limited usefulness in reducing emissions. Barriers and pathways for
sustainable adoption of emission mitigation strategies including support through government policies and motivational
change in the attitude of farmers are also discussed. |
| format | Informe técnico |
| id | CGSpace169585 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform |
| publisherStr | CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1695852025-01-22T02:01:17Z Reducing emissions from fertilizers: Opportunities and Challenges CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform During the last 75 years, production, and consumption of mineral fertilizers, particularly nitrogen ones, contributed enormously to achieve food security but also as much as 5% to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To meet the Paris Agreement 1.5 °C global warming target, emissions from fertilizer production and use must be effectively curtailed. Potential reduction in the emissions during the production of nitrogen fertilizers can be achieved by using renewable wind and photovoltaic electricity to produce green hydrogen by alkaline water electrolysis, polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis, or solid oxide electrolysis cells, which in turn can be used to synthesize green ammonia by the Haber-Bosch process. Combining nitrogen and green hydrogen with a renewable energy-driven N reduction reaction rather than the Haber-Bosch process can further reduce emissions. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the GHG when N fertilizers are applied to soil. Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crop production constitutes the single most effective fertilizer use strategy to reduce N2O emissions. Applying the right amount of fertilizer through the right source and employing the right method of application at the right time of plant demand always improves NUE. If farmers are applying high rates of heavily subsidized fertilizer nitrogen, optimizing the rates has the greatest mitigation potential because it avoids the emissions from both the production and use phase of fertilizers. On-the-go variable rate fertilizer management in large highly mechanized farms in developed countries and site-specific nitrogen management based on low-tech tools in smallholder farms in developing countries leads to reduced N2O emissions by avoiding N application more than the requirement of the crops. Due to high cost and inconsistency in the expected returns of enhanced efficiency fertilizers such as polymer-coated urea and urea stabilized with nitrification and urease, their widespread adoption for mitigating N2O emissions is limited. Integrated management of organic and inorganic nitrogen fertilizers, biochar application, and self-fertilizing crops also have limited usefulness in reducing emissions. Barriers and pathways for sustainable adoption of emission mitigation strategies including support through government policies and motivational change in the attitude of farmers are also discussed. 2024 2025-01-21T17:55:04Z 2025-01-21T17:55:04Z Report https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169585 Open Access application/pdf CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform. 2024. Reducing emissions from fertilizers: Opportunities and Challenges. CGIAR Montpellier, France |
| spellingShingle | CGIAR Climate Change Impact Platform Reducing emissions from fertilizers: Opportunities and Challenges |
| title | Reducing emissions from fertilizers: Opportunities and Challenges |
| title_full | Reducing emissions from fertilizers: Opportunities and Challenges |
| title_fullStr | Reducing emissions from fertilizers: Opportunities and Challenges |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reducing emissions from fertilizers: Opportunities and Challenges |
| title_short | Reducing emissions from fertilizers: Opportunities and Challenges |
| title_sort | reducing emissions from fertilizers opportunities and challenges |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169585 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cgiarclimatechangeimpactplatform reducingemissionsfromfertilizersopportunitiesandchallenges |