Nitrogen is one of the most abundant elements on the planet and is a key building block of life. As humans we have disrupted the natural nitrogen cycle, by taking it from its inert state and transforming it for use across the economy in areas such as agriculture, industry, transport and energy.
Yesterday, the Sustainable Nitrogen Alliance briefed the P4P group on the impacts of nitrogen pollution in the UK. Peers heard how there is no pathway to reach net zero and reverse biodiversity loss that does not involve addressing nitrogen pollution.
The use of nitrogen is currently well above safe planetary limits, and in the UK, nitrogen pollution is a driver of six of the eight priority environmental pressures identified by the Office for Environmental Protection in need of immediate action.
The session explored the main drivers and impacts of nitrogen pollution, including the widespread use of synthetic nitrogen in fertilisers for food production, and increased nitrogen emissions generated by industrial processes, wastewater treatment and transport.
This excess nitrogen is leaching into the environment to pollute our water sources and is disrupting the ecological balance of sensitive habitats. Nitrogen is actually recognised as one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss in the world along with climate change and habitat loss.
Emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide, is also not only accelerating climate change, it’s now the most significant ozone-depleting substance.
Ammonia from agriculture and NOx from the energy industry and transport sectors together account for 92% of the nitrogen in air pollution. This is causing significant harms to the climate, ecosystems, soil health and human health.
Peers also heard that we are not using nitrogen for agriculture efficiently; with only half of the fertiliser we apply to land being taken up by the plants and the rest lost through runoff from the soils. It's estimated that the overuse and waste of nitrogen applied to agriculture is worth approximately £2.3 billion a year – similar in size to the Environmental Land Management (ELMs) budget which supports farmers to sustainably manage their land.
Through the Environment Act 2021, we have a legally binding target to directly address nutrient pollution from agriculture and wastewater into the water environment by at least 40% (nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment) and 80% (phosphorous) respectively by 2038 (against a 2018 baseline). The UK also has a commitment as part of the Global Biodiversity Framework to halve by 2030 the amount of nutrients wasted – running off into our rivers or polluting our air.
The session also looked forward to opportunities to make progress in tackling nitrogen pollution via the current rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), the circular economy agenda, the recently launched water review and Independent Water Commission, and the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
The following briefings shared at the meeting provide informative summaries of the nitrogen pollution issue and recommended next steps for policymakers:
Nitrogen: Finding the balance - towards a comprehensive approach to nitrogen in the UK, WWF-UK
Next steps for nitrogen policy – towards a system-wide approach, Sustainable Nitrogen Alliance
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