Towards climate neutrality in the Spanish N-fertilizer sector: A study based on radiative forcing

Agricultural systems in the 21st Century face the double challenge of achieving climate neutrality while maintaining food security. Synthetic fertilizers rich in nitrogen (N-fertilizers) boost agricultural production at the expense of increasing climate impact. Public policies, such as the Farm-to-Fork (F2F) Strategy, aim to reduce the extensive use of N-fertilizers with the ultimate goal of achieving a climate neutral European Union (EU). However, the strong link between N-fertilizers and GHG emissions (i.e., CO₂, CH₄ and, especially, N₂O) highlights the need to better understand the climate impact of this sector. The present study conducts a climate impact analysis of Spanish N-fertilizer sector for two periods: (i) from 1960 to 2020 using real data and (ii) from 2021 to 2100 considering five forecasted scenarios. The scenarios range from business-as-usual practices to a full accomplishment of the goals pursued by the EU's F2F strategy. The system's climate stability and neutrality are analysed for the different scenarios based on radiative forcing (RF) metrics. Additionally, the study evaluates the short-term impact of the EU decarbonization goals on the climate impact of the Spanish N-fertilizer sector. The results of the study illustrate that the long-lasting climate impact of N₂O and CO₂ emissions compromise the capacity of N-fertilizer sector to achieve climate stability and approach climate neutrality. However, the decarbonisation of transport and N-fertilizer production activities is an important driver to substantially reduce the life cycle CH₄ and CO₂ emissions in the Spanish N-fertilizer sector. The results also highlight that more severe reductions on N-cycles than those suggested by the EU's F2F are required, especially to reduce the long-lasting N₂O emissions in the N-fertilizer sector. Overall, the study concludes that using RF-based metrics increases robustness and transparency of climate assessments, which is necessary for a higher integration of climate science within public policymaking.