Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Analysis
  • Published:

Gaps and opportunities in nitrogen pollution policies around the world

Nature Sustainability volume 3, pages 956–963 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Nitrogen pollution is an important environmental issue gaining traction in policy circles. However, there is little understanding of current nitrogen policies around the world: whether they account for nitrogen’s unique ability to exacerbate multiple environmental impacts or balance nitrogen’s dual role as an essential agricultural input and major pollutant. Here we assemble and analyse the first database of nitrogen policies generated by national and regional legislatures and government agencies, a collection of 2,726 policies across 186 countries derived from the ECOLEX database. The database covers all major environmental sinks (such as air, water and climate), economic sectors (including agriculture, wastewater and industry) and policy instruments (from market mechanisms to regulatory standards). We find that sink-centred policies are focused predominantly on water, mirroring the distribution of nitrogen’s global environmental and human health costs. However, policy integration across sinks is severely lacking, which heightens the risk of substituting one form of nitrogen pollution for another. Moreover, two-thirds of agricultural policies (ranging from broad sectoral programmes to nitrogen-specific measures) incentivize nitrogen use or manage its commerce, demonstrating the primacy of food production over environmental concerns.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Distribution of core N policies and N pollution impacts according to environmental sink.
Fig. 2: Distribution of N policies by sector and breakdown of agricultural policy types.
Fig. 3: Agricultural N policies by category and region.

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

A preliminary version of the nitrogen policy database developed and described in this paper can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hOfl5Np80oC4EXrNMi7emnhx3RByRFSvOfEr9f2GJC4/edit?usp=sharing. A more user-friendly version will soon be made available via the www.inms.international website. The original database used to compile our nitrogen database is ECOLEX, which can be accessed at www.ecolex.org.

References

  1. Fowler, D. et al. Effects of global change during the 21st century on the nitrogen cycle. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 15, 13849–13893 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Sutton, M. et al. in Frontiers 2018/19: Emerging Issues of Environmental Concern (ed. UNEP) Ch. 4 (UNEP, 2019).

  3. Galloway, J. N. et al. The nitrogen cascade. BioScience 53, 341–356 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Lade, S. J. et al. Human impacts on planetary boundaries amplified by Earth system interactions. Nat. Sustain 3, 119–128 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Steffen, W. et al. Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet. Science 347, 1259855 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Davidson, E. A. & Kanter, D. Inventories and scenarios of nitrous oxide emissions. Environ. Res. Lett. 9, 105012 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Sustainable Nitrogen Management Resolution UNEA/EA.4/L.16 (United Nations Environment Assembly, 2019).

  8. Colombo Declaration on Sustainable Nitrogen Management. United Nations Global Campaign on Sustainable Nitrogen Management (United Nations, 2019).

  9. Sutton, M. A. et al. The European Nitrogen Assessment (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011).

  10. Tomich, T. P., Brodt, S. B., Dahlgren, R. A. & Scow, K. M. (eds) The California Nitrogen Assessment: Challenges and Solutions for People, Agriculture, and the Environment (Univ. of California Press, 2016).

  11. Abrol, Y. P. et al. The Indian Nitrogen Assessment: Sources of Reactive Nitrogen, Environmental and Climate Effects, Management Options and Policies (Elsevier, 2017).

  12. Kanter, D. R. & Brownlie, W. J. Joint nitrogen and phosphorus management for sustainable development and climate goals. Environ. Sci. Policy 92, 1–8 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Policies Database (International Energy Agency, 2019); https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-model/policies-database

  14. Climate Policy Database (NewClimate Institute, 2015); http://climatepolicydatabase.org/index.php/Climate_Policy_Database

  15. Department of Environmental Affairs National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (Republic of Botswana, 2016).

  16. Terms and Procedure for Registration of Inorganic Fertilizer Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture of RI Number 43/Permentan/SR.140/8/2011 (Republic of Indonesia, 2011).

  17. Sobota, D. J., Compton, J. E., McCrackin, M. L. & Singh, S. Cost of reactive nitrogen release from human activities to the environment in the United States. Environ. Res. Lett. 10, 025006 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Kanter, D. R. Nitrogen pollution: a key building block for addressing climate change. Clim. Change 147, 11–21 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Velthof, G. L. et al. The impact of the nitrates directive on nitrogen emissions from agriculture in the EU-27 during 2000–2008. Sci. Total Environ. 468, 1225–1233 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Aillery, M. et al. Managing Manure to Improve Air and Water Quality Economic Research Report 9 (USDA Economic Research Service, 2005).

  21. Xepapadeas, A. The economics of non-point-source pollution. Annu. Rev. Resour. Econ. 3, 355–373 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Drawing Down N2O to Protect Climate and the Ozone Layer: A UNEP Synthesis Report (UNEP, 2013).

  23. Global Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Emission Projections & Mitigation: 2015–2050 (EPA, 2019).

  24. Robertson, G. P. et al. Nitrogen–climate interactions in US agriculture. Biogeochemistry 114, 41–70 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Kanter, D. R. et al. A framework for nitrogen futures in the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. Glob. Environ. Change 61, 102029 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Rao, S. et al. Future air pollution in the Shared Socio-economic Pathways. Glob. Environ. Change 42, 346–358 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Food and Agriculture (OECD, 2012).

  28. USDA Agricultural Projections to 2022 (USDA, 2013).

  29. Nemet, G. F., Holloway, T. & Meier, P. Implications of incorporating air-quality co-benefits into climate change policymaking. Environ. Res. Lett. 5, 014007 (2010).

  30. Senet, S. First European agreement on recycled fertilisers. EURACTIV (19 December 2018); https://go.nature.com/31bKSH3

  31. Erisman, J. W., Bleeker, A. & van Jaarsveld, J. A. Evaluation of ammonia emission abatement on the basis of measurements and model calculations. Environ. Pollut. 102, 269–274 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Oenema, O. et al. Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE): An Indicator for the Utilisation of Nitrogen in Agriculture and Food Systems (Wageningen Univ., 2015).

  33. Coggan, A., Whitten, S. M. & Bennett, J. Influences of transaction costs in environmental policy. Ecol. Econ. 69, 1777–1784 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Oenema, O. et al. in The European Nitrogen Assessment (eds Sutton, M. A. et al.) Ch. 4 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011).

  35. Kanter, D. R. & Searchinger, T. D. A technology-forcing approach to reduce nitrogen pollution. Nat. Sustain. 1, 544–552 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Stuart, D., Schewe, R. L. & McDermott, M. Reducing nitrogen fertilizer application as a climate change mitigation strategy: understanding farmer decision-making and potential barriers to change in the US. Land Use Policy 36, 210–218 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Reimer, A. P., Denny, R. C. H. & Stuart, D. The impact of federal and state conservation programs on farmer nitrogen management. Environ. Manage. 62, 694–708 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Kanter, D. R. et al. Nitrogen pollution policy beyond the farm. Nat. Food 1, 27–32 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Booth, S. Analysis of Existing Environmental Policy Databases (UNEP, 2017).

  40. Sutton, M. A. et al. Our Nutrient World: The Challenge to Produce More Food and Energy with Less Pollution. Global Overview of Nutrient Management (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh on behalf of the Global Partnership on Nutrient Management and the International Nitrogen Initiative, 2013).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge funding from the International Nitrogen Management System, which is itself funded by the Global Environment Facility through the United Nations Environment Programme.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Studies, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    David R. Kanter, Olivia Chodos, Olivia Nordland & Mallory Rutigliano

  2. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria

    Wilfried Winiwarter

  3. Institute of Environmental Engineering, University of Zielona Góra, Zielona Góra, Poland

    Wilfried Winiwarter

Authors
  1. David R. Kanter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Olivia Chodos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Olivia Nordland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mallory Rutigliano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Wilfried Winiwarter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

D.R.K. conceived and led the project, analysed and interpreted the data and led drafting of the paper. O.C., O.N. and M.R. analysed and interpreted the data and contributed to the drafting of the paper. W.W. interpreted the data and contributed to the drafting of the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David R. Kanter.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kanter, D.R., Chodos, O., Nordland, O. et al. Gaps and opportunities in nitrogen pollution policies around the world. Nat Sustain 3, 956–963 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0577-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0577-7

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing