Climate emissions from phosphate fertiliser use

How does use of P fertilisers in the field impact climate emissions?

How does use of P fertilisers in the field impact climate emissions, e.g. via eutrophication effects or mitigation, crop carbon and soil carbon cycling? Nitrogen fertilisers’ climate emissions impacts are widely investigated, but do phosphate fertilisers have significant ‘Scope3’ greenhouse impacts? Are these positive (increased carbon fixation by crops or in soil, or in surface waters due to runoff …) or negative (methane emissions related to eutrophication)? Discussion and conclusions will input into the Low Carbon Roadmap for phosphate fertilisers, under development by ERM consultants, supported by Systemiq consultants, for EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and IFA (International Fertilizer industry Association), to be presented at the IFA Cultivating Tomorrow Conference (June 2026).