Climate mitigation co-benefits from sustainable nutrient management in agriculture
Incentives and opportunities
Nitrogen management policies introduced in the past decades by some OECD countries
have succeeded in reducing excess nitrogen use by farmers, but half of global mineral
fertiliser use is still lost for crops. While about half of OECD countries have nutrient
surpluses of between 25-50 kg N per hectare, a smaller number of countries are still
having surpluses of more than 100 kg N per hectare. Since the production and use of
mineral fertilisers have a large greenhouse gas footprint and to achieve the deep
reductions in emissions as the Paris Agreement aims for, nitrogen management policies
could be reinforced and pursued more systematically. The paper identifies significant
reduction potential by eliminating the excess use of nitrogen fertilisers and improving
efficiency in the use of manure-nitrogen, which could be obtained with a redesign
of nitrogen management policies and schemes for public financial support. To underpin
such measures a tax on the nitrogen surplus at farm level could play a vital role.
Based on the available estimates of environmental externalities of nitrogen, the paper
identifies an average rate of EUR 1-2 as a suitable starting point for a tax or penalty
on the surplus application of nitrogen. The paper also explores the opportunities
for sustainable nutrient management in agriculture with climate mitigation benefits
relating to nitrous oxides in particular.
Published on December 02, 2021
In series:OECD Environment Working Papersview more titles