The U.K. government on Jan. 26 closed its window for responses to its consultation seeking views on how the country’s farmers can reduce ammonia emissions from the use or sale of solid urea.
The consultation, launched on Nov. 3, presented three options, including a total ban on solid urea fertilizers, or a requirement to stabilize them with the addition of a urease inhibitor, a chemical that helps to slow the conversion of urea to ammonium (GM Jan 15, p. 36; Nov. 6, 2020). A third option would be the requirement to restrict the spreading of solid urea fertilizers so that they can only be used from Jan. 15 to March 31.
The preferred option of the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), which is overseeing the consultation, is the complete ban on the use or sale of solid urea fertilizers. The department said this policy option is preferred because it would result in a greater amount of ammonia emissions reduction than the other policy options analysed and put forward.
The U.K. government has committed to reduce the pollutant by 8 percent of 2005 levels by 2020, with a 16 percent reduction by 2030. Defra said the emissions are harmful to natural habitats as well as to human health, with 87 percent coming from agriculture, of which 18 percent is attributed to inorganic fertilizer application.
Options to restrict the use of liquid fertilizer products containing urea, such as urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), were considered during policy development, but were subsequently exempted.
The country’s National Farmers Union (NFU) has urged Defra to adopt an “industry-regulated approach” to solid urea fertilizer rather than a total ban, which it said would have a “huge impact” on farmers’ ability to produce food. The NFU’s response sets out the importance of solid urea when used alongside other products such as ammonium nitrate and why it is used by farmers as part of a balanced and integrated nutrient management plan.
The U.K. imported 816,353 mt of solid urea in 2019, according to the country’s revenue and Customs (HMRC) office. Imports in the first 10 months of last year were 656,008 mt, versus 674,887 mt in the same period in 2019.
The country has no domestic urea production, and demand is entirely currently met by imports from The Netherlands, Germany, and Russia, as well as the Middle East.
A Defra spokesperson told Green Markets that the department is now analyzing the responses and that it will provide an official government response in due course. However, the spokesperson would not be drawn on when a policy decision likely would be announced.
Germany is the only country in Europe that has regulations in place specifically controlling the use of urea fertilizers, according to Defra’s consultation document. The German Fertilisers Act in §6(2), specifies that, “From February 1, 2020, urea can only be applied as a fertilizer if a urease inhibitor is added, or if it is incorporated without delay or within four hours from its application.”
However, Defra noted, it is now understood that the definition of urea (with 44 percent carbamide nitrogen content) has proven to be problematic to enforce, and German farmers have found this definition to be a loophole where they continue to use urea fertilizers with less than 44 percent carbamide nitrogen content. As a result, the policy there is currently under review.
The U.K. government department also highlighted the use of urea fertilizers is very low in Denmark and the Netherlands, with both countries having taken “substantial action” to control ammonia emissions, leading to emissions reductions of 40 percent and 64 percent, respectively. Although specific action to control use of urea fertilizers has not been taken, both Denmark and the Netherlands have imposed controls on the use of nitrogen fertilisers in general by applying plans and limits, said Defra.