Consumption of Nitrogen Fertilizers in the EU—External Costs of Their Production by Country of Application
The production of nitrogen fertilizers results in multiple negative environmental impacts. A particularly important aspect is its energy consumption. Analyses covering the product’s life cycle indicate that the greatest environmental harm is generated at the stage of production due to the resulting...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/224 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849717868464177152 |
|---|---|
| author | Agnieszka Sobolewska Marcin Bukowski |
| author_facet | Agnieszka Sobolewska Marcin Bukowski |
| author_sort | Agnieszka Sobolewska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The production of nitrogen fertilizers results in multiple negative environmental impacts. A particularly important aspect is its energy consumption. Analyses covering the product’s life cycle indicate that the greatest environmental harm is generated at the stage of production due to the resulting nitrogen dioxide emissions. The aim of this study was to assess the economic value of the environmental harm caused by the production of the nitrogen fertilizers used in EU farming. The assessment of the environmental damage resulting from the production of mineral nitrogen fertilizers was conducted through a life cycle assessment (LCA). A ‘gate-to-gate’ approach was applied using Sima Pro 7.1.0.2 software, with the ecoinvent 3 and agri-footprint 5 databases. The value of the external costs for the production of nitrogen fertilizers was determined by applying the environmental prices method. The analysis conducted covered the years 2012–2021. The results indicated a decrease in the environmental damage caused by the production of mineral nitrogen fertilizers used in EU agriculture. There was considerable disparity between individual EU member countries, both in terms of trends concerning the amounts of applied nitrogen fertilizer and the efficacy of their use. In the years 2012–2021 in 18 EU countries, the amount of mineral nitrogen fertilizers used in farming grew, with the greatest increases in Romania, Spain, and Hungary, whereas in 9 countries, their use dropped, with the greatest decreases recorded in Germany, France, and Poland. Marked differences were also found in the efficacy of the use of mineral nitrogen fertilizers, as measured based on the value of the environmental harm caused by the production of the applied fertilizers in relation to the value of the field crop produced. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6b3f35545c5f45feadc53702a26a4e2a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-6b3f35545c5f45feadc53702a26a4e2a2025-08-20T03:12:32ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-01-0115322410.3390/agriculture15030224Consumption of Nitrogen Fertilizers in the EU—External Costs of Their Production by Country of ApplicationAgnieszka Sobolewska0Marcin Bukowski1Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, PolandInstitute of Economics, University of Applied Sciences in Elbląg, Wojska Polskiego 1, 82-300 Elbląg, PolandThe production of nitrogen fertilizers results in multiple negative environmental impacts. A particularly important aspect is its energy consumption. Analyses covering the product’s life cycle indicate that the greatest environmental harm is generated at the stage of production due to the resulting nitrogen dioxide emissions. The aim of this study was to assess the economic value of the environmental harm caused by the production of the nitrogen fertilizers used in EU farming. The assessment of the environmental damage resulting from the production of mineral nitrogen fertilizers was conducted through a life cycle assessment (LCA). A ‘gate-to-gate’ approach was applied using Sima Pro 7.1.0.2 software, with the ecoinvent 3 and agri-footprint 5 databases. The value of the external costs for the production of nitrogen fertilizers was determined by applying the environmental prices method. The analysis conducted covered the years 2012–2021. The results indicated a decrease in the environmental damage caused by the production of mineral nitrogen fertilizers used in EU agriculture. There was considerable disparity between individual EU member countries, both in terms of trends concerning the amounts of applied nitrogen fertilizer and the efficacy of their use. In the years 2012–2021 in 18 EU countries, the amount of mineral nitrogen fertilizers used in farming grew, with the greatest increases in Romania, Spain, and Hungary, whereas in 9 countries, their use dropped, with the greatest decreases recorded in Germany, France, and Poland. Marked differences were also found in the efficacy of the use of mineral nitrogen fertilizers, as measured based on the value of the environmental harm caused by the production of the applied fertilizers in relation to the value of the field crop produced.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/224environmental costenvironmental impact of agriculturefield production valueLCAnitrogen fertilizers |
| spellingShingle | Agnieszka Sobolewska Marcin Bukowski Consumption of Nitrogen Fertilizers in the EU—External Costs of Their Production by Country of Application Agriculture environmental cost environmental impact of agriculture field production value LCA nitrogen fertilizers |
| title | Consumption of Nitrogen Fertilizers in the EU—External Costs of Their Production by Country of Application |
| title_full | Consumption of Nitrogen Fertilizers in the EU—External Costs of Their Production by Country of Application |
| title_fullStr | Consumption of Nitrogen Fertilizers in the EU—External Costs of Their Production by Country of Application |
| title_full_unstemmed | Consumption of Nitrogen Fertilizers in the EU—External Costs of Their Production by Country of Application |
| title_short | Consumption of Nitrogen Fertilizers in the EU—External Costs of Their Production by Country of Application |
| title_sort | consumption of nitrogen fertilizers in the eu external costs of their production by country of application |
| topic | environmental cost environmental impact of agriculture field production value LCA nitrogen fertilizers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/224 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT agnieszkasobolewska consumptionofnitrogenfertilizersintheeuexternalcostsoftheirproductionbycountryofapplication AT marcinbukowski consumptionofnitrogenfertilizersintheeuexternalcostsoftheirproductionbycountryofapplication |