Paris-The International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) last week released a white paper, Fertilizers, Climate Change and Enhancing Productivity Sustainably (see fertilizer.org). The paper’s objective is to provide a review of the fertilizer industry and its global impact, both positive and negative, on climate change. The industry advocates a life-cycle approach encompassing fertilizer production, transport, and use. The fertilizer life-cycle accounts for 2 to 3 percent of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet the paper notes that nitrogen fertilizers are estimated to contribute to feeding as much as half of the world’s population. It says as agricultural production rises to meet food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy demand worldwide, fertilizer use will also increase. Climate change creates an imperative for the fertilizer industry to contribute to mitigation and adaptation in order to achieve a more sustainable path to global food security. Increasing agricultural productivity through efficient fertilizer use is critical to prevent further deforestation, protect biodiversity, and thus reduce the emissions level per unit of agricultural output. IFA said the fertilizer industry recognizes that it contributes directly and indirectly to GHG emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O), and has made their reduction a priority. The technology and knowledge is available to achieve significant reductions. IFA says efforts by the industry to take responsibility for its greenhouse gas emissions can only be fully effective if policymakers and other stakeholders, such as farmers, also play their part. The fertilizer industry calls on governments to include agriculture in the post-Kyoto negotiations that will take place in December in Copenhagen.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain