Green fertilizers will be a game changer: we cannot decarbonize the food value chain without them.
Yara’s premium fertilizers already have a low carbon footprint. But today fertilizer production still relies on fossil fuels. We’re changing that.
Already next year Yara will bring to market fossil free, green fertilizers produced using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. They will essentially be made with water and air. That means these green fertilizers will have an 80-90 percent lower carbon footprint than fertilizers produced with natural gas.
Yara’s green fertilizers are a fossil free, impactful and effortless way to decarbonize food production.
Switching to green fertilizers made with renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels will enable us to decarbonize the food system and achieve a fossil free food chain.
This will help us build a more robust, resilient food system that is less dependent on fossil fuels and bring us closer to a nature-positive food future.
Switching to green fertilizers will reduce the carbon footprint of certain crops by between 10 and 30 percent and, for example, by around 20 percent for wheat.
That means green fertilizers will also have the power to reduce the environmental impact of the food we eat – and give consumers more sustainable food choices. The carbon footprint of many food products can be reduced by between 10 and 20 percent and, for example, by 12 percent for bread.
Yara’s green fertilizers are the same product as our nitrate-based mineral fertilizers – just with a much lower climate impact. That means farmers will get the same quality and yield for their crops without having to change the way they farm.
These fossil free fertilizers will also help food companies reduce their carbon footprint and reach their climate pledges without needing to make any changes to their supply chains or operations.
Together with Lantmännen, northern Europe’s leading agricultural cooperative, we signed the first commercial agreement for fossil free green fertilizers.
The fertilizers will be incorporated into Lantmännen’s Climate & Nature program, which makes it profitable for farmers to adopt more sustainable farming practices. Yara’s green fertilizers are an important addition in the further development of the program, enabling Lantmännen to establish a fossil free value chain from field to fork.
Through the Climate & Nature program, Lantmännen has already reduced the climate footprint from wheat cultivation by up to 30 percent since 2015. With green fertilizers included in the program, the climate impact will be reduced even further by 20 percentage points.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report was very clear: Code Red for humanity. There is no alternative to decarbonization – we either have a low carbon future or we’ll have no future.
To decarbonize the food system, which accounts for a significant amount of global greenhouse emissions, and to deliver on the Paris Agreement, we need green fertilizers. They are also an important step to achieve Yara’s mission to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet.
Because switching to green fertilizers will reduce the carbon footprint of crops and food by 10-30 percent all in one go without the need to change any practices or processes, they are an important part of the solution to decarbonize the food chain.
In addition, Yara provides crop nutrition solutions, precision farming and digital tools so farmers can further optimize yields, produce healthier crops and protect the soil, while also reducing their carbon footprint. But we can’t do this alone. All players along the food chain need to work together to realize a sustainable food system.