It's possible to reduce the Canadian agriculture industry's greenhouse gas emissions from nitrogen fertilizer by 14 per cent without risking food security, according to a new report, but the government's 30 per cent target is “unrealistic.”
Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau announced last year a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with fertilizers by 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030.
The government's target led to some — including industry stakeholders and farmers — raising concerns about whether such a reduction in emissions is achievable without reducing fertilizer use, and consequently impacting yields.
They also voiced worries about the added pressure to increase their output to fill the gap in the international market during the war in Ukraine.
The new report, commissioned by Fertilizer Canada and the Canola Council of Canada, calls the 30 per cent goal “unrealistic,” but says it could achieve nearly half that, at 14 per cent, while actually increasing yields.
“With reasonable uptake of these more advanced practices, we felt we could get to 14 per cent,” said Fertilizer Canada President and CEO Karen Proud in an interview with CTVNews.ca. “It actually allows for increasing yields, which is a very, very important part of the total picture.”
Proud said the report aimed to use “scientific rigueur” to figure out what level of emissions was possible, while applying Fertilizer Canada's best practices, its 4R Stewardship Program, “at the most advanced level.”
Proud said while the report doesn't see a way of achieving even half the government's goal, the 14 per cent is still cause for optimism.
“It shows there is still room to move,” Proud said. “And this is not an insignificant reduction in emissions; it's still very significant, while allowing Canadian farmers to do their part when it comes to food productivity and food security globally. I was really quite pleased to see how far we believe we still may be able to go.”
Bibeau wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca she welcomes the report's conclusion that further application of Fertilizer Canada's 4Rs — the right source at the right rate, at the right time and right place — will help reduce emissions.
“This program saves money, produces more and reduces emissions all at the same time,” Bibeau wrote. “While this industry report focuses on its own nutrient management initiative, there are several other ways to achieve the emission target.”
She added her government has invested in research and innovation to help farmers find other ways to reduce their emissions.
Following news of the federal government's emissions reduction target, many were quick to call it a fertilizer ban. But Bibeau — and Proud — maintain that's not what it is.
“It is absolutely not a fertilizer ban,” Bibeau said, in an interview with CTVNews.ca. “It is a strategy to reduce our emissions, because we desperately have to fight against climate change, and farmers are the first to be impacted by climate change.”
Proud said while the 30 per cent target is ambitious, it's also voluntary, and the new report shows making significant progress is possible without cutting fertilizer use.
“There's been a lot of misinformation circulating around what this target was right from the beginning, and we've never suggested that it was a ban on fertilizer,” Proud said. “We've raised concerns about the only way to achieve it being reducing fertilizer use, and I think the government is listening to that.”
“They've since made it very, very clear that their intent is not to require reductions in fertilizer use,” she added. “They've made it clear that they do support farmers continuing to increase yields and productivity, so I think that was very important.”
Proud said the government, industry stakeholders, and farmers need to be mindful there are not many growing seasons left before 2030, so it's vital they figure out how best to implement sustainable practices as soon as possible.
“I think the big challenge now is to engage in meaningful discussions with farmers, farm groups, and organizers such as ourselves, to talk about how we really make this happen,” she said, adding they need to move beyond academics and support farmers to remove barriers.
The government wrapped its consultations in late August to figure out how best to achieve the emissions reduction goal, and a report is expected in late fall with the results of those consultations.
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