Both at the point of production and when applied to stimulate crop growth, fertilizers have an impact on greenhouse gas emissions and other aspects of climate change. Taken in isolation, fertilizer production leads to inevitable emissions of some greenhouse gases. But these can be minimized, and the fertilizer industry has taken great strides to improve its performance in this area during recent years. Depending on management practices, crop fertilization can either produce a positive, negative or neutral impact on climate change. This is true regardless of whether farmers are using fertilizers, other sources of crop nutrients or a mix thereof.

Climate change is a priority area of work for the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA). IFA launched in 2007 a task force on climate change with its members to advance the issue among the industry. The Association is also actively involved in the UNFCCC negotiations in the framework of the International Agri-Food Network (IAFN). IFA and IAFN organized an official side-event in Poznan for COP14 of UNFCCC. To learn more click here .