Costs and Benefits of Nitrogen for Europe and Implications for Mitigation

2013/03/08 by Hans J. M. van Grinsven, Hans J. M. Van Grinsven, Mike Holland +6 · 364 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Environmental Science · #Agriculture #Air Quality and Health Impacts #Air pollution #Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols #Business #Climate Change Policy and Economics #Climate change #Cost–benefit analysis #Ecology #Economic cost #Economics #Ecosystem #Environmental protection #Environmental science #Geography #Natural resource economics #Nutrient pollution

paper · doi:10.1021/es303804g

published in Environmental Science & Technology 47(8), 3571-3579 (American Chemical Society)

openalex publication_date 2013/03/08 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Cost-benefit analysis can be used to provide guidance for emerging policy priorities in reducing nitrogen (N) pollution. This paper provides a critical and comprehensive assessment of costs and benefits of the various flows of N on human health, ecosystems and climate stability in order to identify major options for mitigation. The social cost of impacts of N in the EU27 in 2008 was estimated between €75-485 billion per year. A cost share of around 60% is related to emissions to air. The share of total impacts on human health is about 45% and may reflect the higher willingness to pay for human health than for ecosystems or climate stability. Air pollution by nitrogen also generates social benefits for climate by present cooling effects of N containing aerosol and C-sequestration driven by N deposition, amounting to an estimated net benefit of about €5 billion/yr. The economic benefit of N in primary agricultural production ranges between €20-80 billion/yr and is lower than the annual cost of pollution by agricultural N which is in the range of €35-230 billion/yr. Internalizing these environmental costs would lower the optimum annual N-fertilization rate in Northwestern Europe by about 50 kg/ha. Acknowledging the large uncertainties and conceptual issues of our cost-benefit estimates, the results support the priority for further reduction of NH3 and NOx emissions from transport and agriculture beyond commitments recently agreed in revision of the Gothenburg Protocol.

Citations

• How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world

Cited by

• Role of science and scientists in public environmental policy debates: The case of EU agrochemical and Nature Restoration Regulations
• The perfect storm in a coastal pond: duckweed, botulism, bird mortalities, and recurrent blooms of Euglena sanguinea
• Calculation of external climate costs for food highlights inadequate pricing of animal products
• Critical Decline of Earthworms from Organic Origins under Intensive, Humic SOM-Depleting Agriculture
• Air Pollution in Europe. [europepmc]
• Plant Molecular Farming - Integration and Exploitation of Side Streams to Achieve Sustainable Biomanufacturing. [europepmc]
• Experimental and empirical evidence shows that reducing weed control in winter cereal fields is a viable strategy for farmers. [europepmc]
• A Nitrogen Physical Input-Output Model for Illinois. [europepmc]
• From hogs to HABs: impacts of industrial farming in the US on nitrogen and phosphorus and greenhouse gas pollution. [europepmc]
• Societal benefits of halving agricultural ammonia emissions in China far exceed the abatement costs. [europepmc]
• Calculation of external climate costs for food highlights inadequate pricing of animal products. [europepmc]
• Protecting local water quality has global benefits. [europepmc]
• The Warming Climate Aggravates Atmospheric Nitrogen Pollution in Australia. [europepmc]
• Nitrogen inputs best predict farm field nitrate leaching in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. [europepmc]
• Crop production and nitrogen use in European cropland and grassland 1961-2019. [europepmc]
• δ 15 N of Chironomidae: An index of nitrogen sources and processing within watersheds for national aquatic monitoring programs. [europepmc]
• Long-term performance of three mesophilic anaerobic digesters to convert animal and agro-industrial wastes into organic fertilizer. [europepmc]
• Seasonality of nitrogen balances in a Mediterranean climate watershed, Oregon, US. [europepmc]
• Significant contributions of combustion-related sources to ammonia emissions. [europepmc]
• Closing the Nutrient Loop-The New Approaches to Recovering Biomass Minerals during the Biorefinery Processes. [europepmc]
• Low-carbon diets can reduce global ecological and health costs. [europepmc]
• Optimal reactive nitrogen control pathways identified for cost-effective PM 2.5 mitigation in Europe. [europepmc]
• Managing urban development could halve nitrogen pollution in China. [europepmc]
• A low-tech, low-cost method to capture point-source ammonia emissions and their potential use as a nitrogen fertiliser. [europepmc]
• Effects of different nitrogen fertilization systems on crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency - Results of a field experiment in southern Germany. [europepmc]
• Comparative analysis of codon usage patterns in the chloroplast genomes of nine forage legumes. [europepmc]
• The optimum nitrogen fertilizer rate for maize in the US Midwest is increasing. [europepmc]
• Uncovering functional deterioration in the rhizosphere microbiome associated with post-green revolution wheat cultivars. [europepmc]
• Scenario analysis of nitrogen surplus typologies in Europe shows that a 20% fertilizer reduction may fall short of 2030 EU Green Deal goals. [europepmc]

Related

• Cost of abating excess nitrogen on wheat plots in France: An assessment with multi‐technology modelling
• Management, regulation and environmental impacts of nitrogen fertilization in northwestern Europe under the Nitrates Directive; a benchmark study
• Fertilising Climate Policy: The Dual Impact of CBAM on EU Agricultural Emissions and Regional Disparities
• Marginal abatement cost curve for an ammonia reduction measure in agriculture: the case of Latvia
• Unveiling the potential for an efficient use of nitrogen along the food supply and consumption chain