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Global Cooperation through Carbon Markets Could Cut Climate Mitigation Costs Dramatically

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WBG-State of Carbon Pricing Reports 2016HANOI, Vietnam, Greater cooperation through carbon trading could reduce the cost of climate change mitigation by 32 percent by 2030, according to a new World Bank report released today at an international carbon event in Vietnam.

New modelling analysis undertaken for the State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2016 report shows that increased international carbon trading could enable large-scale emissions reductions at much lower cost than at present, based on the carbon mitigation goals spelled out in countries’ national climate plans under the Paris Agreement – the Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs.  By the middle of the century, an international market has the potential to reduce global mitigation costs by more than 50 percent.

The goal of limiting emission reductions to meet a 2°C or lower target will be difficult to achieve cost-efficiently without more carbon trading, according to the report, prepared by the World Bank and launched at the 15th Assembly of the Partnership for Market Readiness.

“The more we cooperate through carbon trading, the larger the savings and the greater the potential to increase ambition by countries in the short term,” said John Roome, Senior Director for Climate Change at the World Bank. “To be effective, carbon pricing policies must be coordinated with other energy and environmental policies –this will require collaboration within and between countries.”

Carbon Markets - World Bank 2016
Summary map of existing, emerging and potential regional, national and subnational carbon pricing initiatives (ETS and tax). Source: State and Trend of Carbon Pricing. World Bank Report. 2016.

The Paris Agreement, reached at COP21 in late 2015, sets up a framework for global cooperation through carbon markets. Over 100 countries consider carbon pricing initiatives as part of their NDCs, through emissions trading within or across borders, international crediting, carbon taxation and other measures.

Under this new cooperative framework, one country can benefit from mitigation activities resulting in emission reductions in another country to fulfill its NDC. The report indicates that financial flows of 2–5 percent of gross domestic product in countries with lower-cost mitigation activities could be realized for investments that will reduce emissions by 2050.

The report also shows that momentum on carbon pricing has continued to grow. In 2016, 40 national jurisdictions and over 20 cities, states, and regions are putting a price on carbon, including seven out of 10 of the world’s largest economies. The coverage of carbon pricing initiatives on global emissions has increased threefold over the past decade, translating to the equivalent of around 7 gigatons of carbon dioxide (GtCO2e), or about 13 percent of global GHG emissions. In addition, governments raised about US$26 billion in revenues from carbon pricing initiatives in 2015. This represents a 60 percent increase compared to the revenues raised in 2014.

This year saw the launch of two new carbon pricing initiatives: British Columbia put a price on emissions from liquefied natural gas plants alongside its carbon tax, and Australia implemented a safeguard mechanism to the Emissions Reduction Fund, requiring large emitters that exceed their set limit to offset excess emissions.

Looking ahead, next year could see the largest ever increase in the share of global emissions covered by carbon pricing initiatives in a single year. If the Chinese national Emissions Trading System (ETS) is implemented in 2017 as planned, it would become the largest carbon pricing initiative in the world, surpassing the EU ETS. Initial estimates show that emissions covered by carbon pricing initiatives could increase from 13 percent to between 20 and 25 percent of global GHG emissions.

In April, the High Level Panel on Carbon Pricing called upon the international community to double the percentage of global emissions covered by explicit carbon prices to 25% by 2020 and to double it again to 50% within a decade. Heads of State from Canada, Chile, Ethiopia, France, Germany and Mexico are among the leaders calling for this increased commitment.

World Bank

Actions to Green the Financial System Have Doubled – But Further Transformation Still Needed

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PhotoCredit@Fotolia
PhotoCredit@Fotolia

Worldwide policy actions to harness the global financial system for sustainable development have more than doubled over the last five years, but more effort is needed to turn this momentum into genuine global transformation, according to the second edition of UN Environment’s landmark report, “The Financial System We Need”.

Over the past five years, policy and regulatory measures by finance ministries, central banks and financial regulators to promote sustainable finance have risen to 217 and now exist in nearly 60 countries, the report finds.

Developing and emerging economies have focused their efforts on greening the banking sector, accounting for 70% of total measures in that sector. Developed countries have focused their action on environmental, social and governance issues by institutional investors, accounting for 92% of all measures in that sector.

Capital is also starting to shift, the report finds. The issuance of green bonds has already reached US$51.4bn this year, up from last year’s total of US$41.8bn – a fourfold increase since 2013, when issuance was below US$11bn. However, the total amount of green bonds outstanding is just 0.15% of the global fixed income market.

We are putting forward recommendations to accelerate the conversion of much of the financial system’s US$300 trillion of assets – held by banks, the capital markets and institutional investors – into sustainable financial flows,” said Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment. “The money isn’t the problem, it’s where we put it.”

2016 has also been marked by major moves at the national and international levels:

  1. In Kenya, leadership on mobile banking is providing the basis for expanding access to renewable energy.
  2. In India, new guidelines have been introduced to promote the expansion of the green bond market.
  3. The European Commission has just announced it will develop a comprehensive European strategy on green finance.
  4. In China, President Xi and the State Council have issued guidelines to green the financial system.
  5. G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors have, for the first time, agreed to scale up green finance.

Despite the promising trend, UN Environment emphasized the need for stronger and faster action. Globally, US$5-7 trillion a year is needed to finance the Sustainable Development Goals. China alone has a stated aim of raising US$1.5 trillion for financing green projects through to 2020; 85% of this will have to come from private finance.

UN Environment has set out five ambitious yet practical proposals that could bring the financial system into alignment with sustainable development and climate imperatives:

  1. Embed sustainability into long-term national plans for financial reform.
  2. Channel fintech developments to align finance with sustainable development.
  3. Use public finance for direct impact and to pioneer new markets, rules and practices.
  4. Ensure that policymakers and professionals understand the imperatives and risks.
  5. Develop common approaches to integrating sustainability into definitions, tools and standards.

The Momentum to Transformation report also sets out an initial performance framework for measuring progress towards a sustainable financial system across different countries. This tracks the policies and regulations in place, the market response and the flows of sustainable finance.

Nick Robins, co-director of UN Environment’s Inquiry, said: “Key data about the performance of the financial system and sustainable development is still lacking. This is holding back financial institutions from reallocating capital and financial policymakers from putting in place the necessary market frameworks. It’s why developing a set of shared indicators and standards is so critical.”

The report also pays specific attention to financial technology (fintech), which offers significant potential to scale up funding for sustainable development. Through advances in digital technologies – such as artificial intelligence and blockchain – tomorrow’s financial system could be far more efficient in mobilizing green finance, but that action is needed now to shape the direction of fintech.

Simon Zadek, co-director of UN Environment’s Inquiry, said: “The overlap between environment and finance is more obvious than ever. The solutions that fintech promises could not only revolutionize the financial sector but bolster global efforts to safeguard our environment.”

Download “The Financial System We Need” Report

Countries agree to curb powerful greenhouse gases in largest climate breakthrough since Paris

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Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth

Kigali, 15 October 2016 – Nearly 200 countries struck a landmark deal today to reduce the emissions of powerful greenhouse gases, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), in a move that could prevent up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by the end of this century.

The amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer endorsed in Kigali today is the single largest contribution the world has made towards keeping the global temperature rise “well below” 2 degrees Celsius, a target agreed at the Paris climate conference last year.

“Last year in Paris, we promised to keep the world safe from the worst effects of climate change. Today, we are following through on that promise,” said UN Environment chief Erik Solheim.

“This is about much more than the ozone layer and HFCs. It is a clear statement by all world leaders that the green transformation started in Paris is irreversible and unstoppable. It shows the best investments are those in clean, efficient technologies.”

Commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning as substitutes for ozone-depleting substances, HFCs are currently the world’s fastest growing greenhouse gases, their emissions increasing by up to 10 per cent each year. They are also one of the most powerful, trapping thousands of times more heat in the Earth’s atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2).

“The faster we act, the lower the financial costs will be, and the lighter the environmental burden on our children,” said President of Rwanda Paul Kagame.

“That begins with a clear signal that change is coming and it is coming soon. In due course, new innovations and products will allow us to phase out HFCs even faster, and at lower cost.”

The rapid growth of HFCs in recent years has been driven by a growing demand for cooling, particularly in developing countries with a fast-expanding middle class and hot climates. The Kigali amendment provides for exemptions for countries with high ambient temperatures to phase down HFCs at a slower pace.

“It is not often you get a chance to have a 0.5-degree centigrade reduction by taking one single step together as countries – each doing different things perhaps at different times, but getting the job done,” said US Secretary of State John Kerry.

“If we continue to remember the high stakes for every country on Earth, the global transition to a clean energy economy is going to accelerate.”

Phase down schedule

Following seven years of negotiations, the 197 Montreal Protocol parties reached a compromise, under which developed countries will start to phase down HFCs by 2019. Developing countries will follow with a freeze of HFCs consumption levels in 2024, with some countries freezing consumption in 2028.

By the late 2040s, all countries are expected to consume no more than 15-20 per cent of their respective baselines.

Financing and alternatives to HFCs

Countries also agreed to provide adequate financing for HFCs reduction, the cost of which is estimated at billions of dollars globally. The exact amount of additional funding will be agreed at the next Meeting of the Parties in Montreal, in 2017. Grants for research and development of affordable alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons will be the most immediate priority.

Alternatives to HFCs currently being explored include substances that do not deplete the ozone layer and have a smaller impact on the climate, such as ammonia or carbon dioxide. Super-efficient, cost effective cooling technologies are also being developed, which can help protect the climate both through reducing HFCs emissions and by using less energy.

The Kigali Amendment comes only days after two other climate action milestones: sealing the international deal to curb emissions from aviation and achieving the critical mass of ratifications for the Paris climate accord to enter into force.

Source: UNEP

ADB to Provide India $500 Million for Solar Rooftop Systems

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adb-rooftop-solar
Rooftop solar systems will help the Indian government expand energy access using renewable energy. Credit: ADB

MANILA — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is set to provide $500 million in financing for rooftop solar systems that will help the Indian government expand energy access using renewable energy. ADB will provide the financing to Punjab National Bank – one of India’s largest commercial banks – which will use the ADB funds to make loans to various developers and end users throughout India to install rooftop solar systems.

“There is huge potential for India to expand its use of solar rooftop technologies because of the sharp drop in the price of solar panels, meaning the cost of producing solar energy is at or close to that from fossil fuels,” said Anqian Huang, finance specialist in ADB’s South Asia Department. “Sourcing more solar energy will also help India meet the carbon emissions reduction target that it has committed to as part of the recent global climate change agreement.”

The financing comprises $330 million from ADB and $170 million from the multi-donor Clean Technology Fund administered by ADB. This funding should mean that 11 million fewer tons of greenhouse gases are emitted over the typical 25-year lifetime of solar rooftop systems.

Combined with an additional $300 million in subproject equity investment and $200 million in loans from commercial banks and other financiers, the entire cost of the Solar Rooftop Investment Program is $1 billion.

The Government of India aims to increase the amount of energy sourced from solar rooftop systems to 40 gigawatts by 2022. This is part of a wider goal under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission to increase its overall solar energy generation to 100 gigawatts by the same date.

India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, or the carbon emission reduction target under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, is to lower the emissions intensity of the Indian economy by 33% from 2005 levels and to increase the share of non-fossil-fuel-based power generation capacity to 40% of installed power capacity by 2030. India formally ratified the Paris climate agreement yesterday.

To support efforts by India and other Asian developing member countries to meet their targets, ADB has also committed to doubling its annual financing for climate mitigation and adaptation to $6 billion by 2020.

The solar rooftop market is still at an early stage of development in India and awareness of the latest technologies and the financial benefits is low. Banks see lending to such projects as risky, in part because they have limited past experiences. In this context, an additional $5 million technical assistance from the multi-donor Clean Technology Fund, administered by ADB, will be used to provide training, promote market development, and raise market awareness.

India ratifies the Paris Agreement on Climate Change

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India Ratifies Climate Agreement
Instrument handed over to the UN

India ratified the Paris Agreement (on Climate Change) on 2nd October 2016, the day of birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.  The Instrument of Ratification was deposited by India with the UN at an event organised in New York to commemorate ‘International Day on Non Violence’ on the occasion of Mahatma’s birth anniversary.

The Paris Agreement was adopted last year on 12th December 2015 and India signed the Paris Agreement in New York early this year on 22nd April 2016. A total of 191 countries have signed to the Paris Agreement so far.  As per the provisions of the Paris Agreement, the treaty will come into force as and when 55 countries contributing to 55 % of total global emission ratify the agreement.  India’s decision to ratify the agreement has pushed the cumulative level of emission of countries that have ratified the agreement as on 2nd October 2016 to 51.89%.

With the gathering momentum and willingness expressed by several other countries to ratify the agreement before the end of this year, it is expected that the Agreement will enter into force soon and give a thrust to the global actions to address climate change. Given the critical role that India played in securing international consensus on Paris Agreement, this step further underlines India’s responsive leadership in the community of nations committed to global cause of environmental protection and climate justice.

While agreeing to ratify the Paris Agreement, India has declared that it will treat its national laws, its development agenda, availability of means of implementation, its assessment of global commitment to combating climate change, and predictable and affordable access to cleaner source of energy as the context in which the Agreement is being ratified.

Paris Agreement pertains to post-2020 climate actions. In the pre-2020 period, developed countries are to act as per the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, while some developed and developing countries have taken voluntary pledges under the Cancun Agreements under the Convention.

YES BANK Releases its Sustainability Report for FY 2015-16

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t2s-yes-bank-logo-2Mumbai: YES BANK, India’s fifth largest private sector bank, has released its Sustainability Report for FY 2015-16, ‘Glocalizing Responsible Banking Mindshare & Outcomes in India’.

With this Report, YES BANK has become the first Indian Bank to release a Sustainability Report based on the Integrated Reporting (<IR>) framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). Integrated Reporting enables the Bank to highlight not only its non-financial performance but also the connections between its financial and non-financial performance, and help stakeholders better understand connections between the financial performance and management of its human, natural and intellectual capitals.

The Report continues to adhere to the GRI G4 reporting framework choosing to report as per the ‘In accordance – Comprehensive’ option, emphasizing it includes responses on each indicator of all material issues identified through enhanced stakeholders’ dialogue and consultation. The Report has been externally assured by KPMG.

FY 2015-16 has been historic, with the adoption of, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda towards financing for global development, the Sustainable Development Goals for inclusive development, and the Paris Agreement on climate action. In the backdrop of this collective global agenda, the Report captures YES BANK’s impact across its stakeholders through multidimensional approaches, gauging its success through shared value created across the six capitals as per the <IR> framework.

On the release of the Report, Namita Vikas, Group President & Managing Director, Climate Strategy & Responsible Banking, YES BANK said, “In line with its Responsible Banking ethos, YES BANK has striven to positively impact its stakeholders through multidimensional approaches, gauging its success on integrated outcomes and value created. Aligning with the Integrated Reporting framework would enable us to more comprehensively present this value creation sustained through the short and long term. With the launch of the first report in the Indian banking sector aligned to the IR framework, YES BANK continues to be the benchmark institution for Triple Bottom Line accounting and reporting in India.”

In a significant move towards YES BANK’s integrated reporting journey, the Bank became the first Indian Banking sector member of the <IR> Lab India, a collaborative effort between CII, IIRC, regulators, accounting firms, academics and the corporate sector, with a focus on advocacy and proliferation of integrated reporting in India.

World Steel Association Launches the 2016 Edition of Sustainable Steel Policy

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t2s-unep-steel-works-factoryThe World Steel Association (Worldsteel) has launched the 2016 edition of Sustainable Steel – Policy and Indicators, highlighting how steel and the steel industry contribute to and perform in the areas of economic, environmental and social sustainability.

The report highlights the steel industry’s performance throughout 2015 against 8 sustainability indicators. Publication of the report reflects the steel industry’s efforts to continuously improve performance in sustainability in line with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Steel in Circular Economy
Steel in Circular Economy

Reporting is voluntary and in 2015 a total of 159 companies worldwide participated in the study, up from 42 in 2004. Crude steel produced by companies who reported on one or more indicators for the 2015 fiscal year was 899Mt, representing 55% of global crude steel production.

Dr Edwin Basson, Director General, Worldsteel, said, “We in steel recognise the importance of proving our commitment to sustainability to the wider world. The sustainability indicators do just that. As such, I am delighted to see that participation levels among steel companies continue to go up and that we are continuing to improve our environmental, social and economic performance.

Steel is the material on which a sustainable future is going to be built. By aligning our sustainable development goals with those of the United Nations we are making clear to the world that we understand the challenges we face and are serious about taking action.”

Commenting on the industry’s performance, Dr Basson said, “Although we commend the progress to date we are at no risk of becoming complacent. We will continue to champion the sustainable development of our industry and encourage wider participation among our member companies.”

The 8 indicators are:

Environmental sustainability

  1. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: An average of 1.9 tonnes of CO2 are emitted for every tonne of steel produced.
  2. Energy intensity: 20.3 GJ per tonne of crude steel cast
  3. Material efficiency: 97.3% of materials used on-site to make crude steel are converted to products and by-products.
  4. Environmental Management System (EMS): An 11.5% increase in employees and contractors working in EMS-registered production facilities since 2005.

Social sustainability

  1. The lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) was 1.2 injuries per million hours worked.
  2. Employees (at both production and non-production facilities) received an average of 6.8 training days per year.

Economic sustainability

  1. Investment in new processes and products was 12.6% of revenue.
  2. Economic value distributed (EVD) was 98.1% of industry revenue.

Click here to download “Sustainable Steel – Policy and Indicators 2016”

CDP to rate Corporate Supply Chain Leaders on Climate Action

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Credit: Fotolia
Credit: Fotolia

CDP’s supply chain program has published the methodology behind the first-ever system to assess how companies manage carbon and climate change across their supply chains.

The supplier engagement rating from CDP – the NGO holding the most comprehensive set of global corporate environmental data – will shine a spotlight on the companies taking action to reduce emissions and lower climate-related risks in the supply chain.

With supply chains responsible for up to four times the greenhouse gas emissions of a company’s direct operations, they present a critical focus area for businesses preparing for a carbon-constrained world. In 2016, 89 organizations – including global retailer Metro Group and the US Department of the Navy – requested data from over 8,300 suppliers worldwide through CDP’s supply chain program, which asks companies in the supply chain to report on their environmental performance via an annual questionnaire.

Companies scoring the highest on supplier engagement on climate issues will be named in the annual CDP supply chain report, to be released in January 2017. In subsequent years, the report will also list those companies failing to manage carbon and climate change in their supply chains.

Régine Lucas, Chief Procurement Officer, L’Oréal said: “Like any company taking climate change seriously, we understand the importance of knowing what’s going on in the supply chain, both in terms of environmental impact and safeguarding future prosperity. At L’Oréal, fighting climate change is one of our priorities, in line with our long-standing tradition of responsibility. With our ambitious sustainable development programme Sharing Beauty With All, we continue to have a positive impact on society and the environment.

“We look forward to being scored by CDP on our supplier engagement. By showcasing examples of best practice, the CDP rating will spur us to work even more closely with our suppliers and continue driving down emissions in the supply chain.”

The CDP supplier engagement rating will score all companies that disclose to the 2016 CDP supply chain questionnaire, with over 4,000 companies having disclosed in 2015. CDP supply chain members (purchasing organisations that request data from their suppliers via CDP) that themselves disclose to the supply chain or climate change questionnaire will also be evaluated on supplier engagement.

Scores will be given based on performance across four key areas related to governance, ambition, measurement and supplier engagement. The full methodology can be viewed here.

Dexter Galvin, head of CDP’s supply chain program said: “Purchasing organizations have the potential to galvanize significant environmental changes in their supply chain but we know that not enough companies are engaging with their suppliers on GHG emissions and climate change strategies.

“By shining a light on whether companies are taking responsibility for the emissions hidden in their supply chains, we hope to spur on the laggards and drive a race to the top. This in turn will result in more sustainable supply chains, helping companies to significantly reduce the size of their carbon footprint.”

The rating system, which is the first of its kind, will provide a tool for groups wishing to compare company performance on targeting carbon emissions in the supply chain.

Gartner, the US-based information technology research and advisory company, will incorporate CDP’s supplier engagement rating into its own future assessments of corporate supply chains.

Dan Hamza Goodacre, Program Director, Energy Efficiency at ClimateWorks Foundation, which is supporting CDP’s supplier engagement rating, said: “Twenty-five per cent of global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are emitted during production of goods that are consumed in a different country, and yet our system of carbon accounting is primarily production based, allowing countries, companies and consumers to ‘off-shore’ pollution. This has to end if we are serious about tackling climate change, which is why CDP’s new rating is so important; it will help us all see which companies are at the forefront of taking greater responsibility for their emissions.”

Apple Makes Environmental Progress in China

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t2s-apple-china
Apple’s solar project in Sichuan, helping to power the company’s operations in China on entirely renewable energy. Credit: Apple

BEIJING — Apple today announced a significant commitment by major supplier Lens Technology to run its Apple operations on entirely renewable energy. This unprecedented commitment, combined with zero waste compliance from all final assembly sites, furthers Apple’s efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint and reduce waste in China, helping to advance China’s transition to a new green economy.

Lens Technology has committed to power all of its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable energy by the end of 2018, as part of Apple’s industry-leading supply chain clean energy program announced last year. Lens is the first supplier to make a clean energy commitment for all of its Apple production, and will meet its goal through an unprecedented power purchase agreement with local wind projects.

Apple is working with suppliers to help transform the environmental landscape in China, and is proud to announce all 14 of its final assembly sites in China are now compliant with UL’s Zero Waste to Landfill validation. The UL standard certifies all of their manufacturing waste is reused, recycled, composted, or, when necessary, converted into energy. Since the program began in January 2015, the sites have diverted more than 140,000 metric tons of waste from landfills.

“We want to show the world that you can manufacture responsibly and we’re working alongside our suppliers to help them lower their environmental impact in China,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “We congratulate Lens for their bold step, and hope by sharing the lessons we’ve learned in our transition to renewable energy, our suppliers will continue to access clean power projects, moving China closer to its green manufacturing goals.”

“Our power purchase agreement is the first of its kind in southern China and we hope it will serve as an example for other companies looking to transition to cleaner, more economical sources of power,” said Lens CEO Zhou Qunfei. “We’re pleased to be the first supplier to commit to covering all of our Apple production with renewable energy, and proud to source from local Hunan wind farms to power our facilities in Changsha.”

Lens’ manufacturing with Apple currently includes two facilities in Changsha, Hunan province. Wind energy will cover 100 percent of the energy consumed producing Apple products at Lens facilities by 2018, avoiding nearly 450,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, equivalent to the energy use in 380,000 Chinese homes.

Through its clean energy program, Apple will partner with suppliers in China to install more than 2 gigawatts of new clean energy in the coming years, avoiding over 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution in the country between now and 2020. Foxconn committed in October to construct 400 megawatts of solar, starting in Henan province, by 2018. The manufacturer is now well on its way to constructing the first 80 megawatts of that commitment.

Earlier this year, Foxconn final assembly sites at Guanlan and Taiyuan were the first in China to receive UL’s Zero Waste to Landfill validation. With the recent addition of 12 manufacturing sites, all of Apple’s final assembly production in China is now zero waste compliant.

“We applaud innovative companies, like Apple, that are leading by actively reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing operations,” said UL president and CEO Keith Williams. “Achieving zero waste is an extensive effort that requires close coordination across all facets of a company’s operations, especially when the commitment is global.”

Apple has taken significant steps to protect the environment by transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy. Today, the company is powering 100 percent of its operations in China and the US, and more than 93 percent of its worldwide operations, with renewable energy.

What’s good for crops not always good for the environment

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Corn fields in Iowa
Corn fields in Iowa: Site of NSF’s Intensively Managed Landscapes Critical Zone Observatory (CZO). Credit: Praveen Kumar

What’s good for crops is not always good for the environment. Nitrogen, a key nutrient for plants, can cause problems when it leaches into water supplies.

Now, scientists have developed a model to calculate the age of nitrogen in corn and soybean fields, which could lead to improved fertilizer application techniques to promote crop growth while reducing leaching.

Researchers Praveen Kumar and Dong Kook Woo of the University of Illinois published their results today in the journal Water Resources Research, a publication of the American Geophysical Union. The National Science Foundation (NSF) supported the research through its Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) for Intensively Managed Landscapes, one of 10 such NSF CZOs.

“By understanding how long nitrogen stays in the soil and the factors that drive that, we can improve the precision at which we apply nitrogen for agriculture productivity,” Kumar said. “We may be able to apply fertilizer specifically in areas that are deficient in nitrogen, in precisely the amount that the plants need to uptake, rather than just applying it uniformly. Potentially, we could see a significant reduction in fertilizer amounts.”

Plants take up nitrogen as a nutrient from the soil through their roots. Nitrogen is added to the soil through fertilizer application or by microbes in the soil breaking down organic compounds. However, if the soil contains more nitrogen than the plants need, nitrogen leaches out into the water and can accumulate in lakes, rivers and oceans.

Overdosing the environment

“Nitrogen, usually in the form of nitrate fertilizer, is needed for healthy crop production, but too much is not a good thing, since the excess can contaminate water supplies,” said Richard Yuretich, program director in the NSF’s Division of Earth Sciences. “Knowing how long nitrate resides in the soil will lead to more efficient agriculture that maximizes plant health without overdosing the environment.”

Kumar and Woo developed a numerical model to calculate how long inorganic nitrogen has been in the soil, using a corn-corn-soybean rotation common in the Midwest.

Fresh fertilizer application or microbial production of nitrates and ammonium are considered “age zero” in the numerical model. From there, the researchers compute age by the chemical reactions or transformations nitrogen goes through in the soil, mediated by moisture, temperature and microbes.

Comparing corn and soybeans

The model revealed two surprising findings when comparing the average age of nitrogen in the topsoil with that in deeper layers, and in comparing cornfields with soybean fields.

“The biggest surprise was that we found a lower average age of nitrogen in soybean fields,” Woo said. “We use fertilizer on corn, not soybeans. Yet even though we count that fresh fertilizer as age zero, we found a lower average age of nitrogen in soybean fields. We found that is mainly because soybeans uptake the old nitrogen, so the average age is reduced.”

When looking at the layers of soil, the researchers initially expected that nitrogen would follow a similar age path to water: newer on top, and growing older as it migrates down through the soil. However, they found that the nitrogen topsoil had a relatively high average age when compared with the water. Looking closer, they realized that one of the forms of nitrogen – ammonium – accumulated in the topsoil.

“Ammonium has a positive charge, which adheres to the soil particles and prevents it from leaching to the deeper layers,” Woo said. “Because of that, we observe relatively higher nitrogen age in the upper layers, compared with the age of the nitrate that dissolves in water, which doesn’t have that barrier and can migrate down through the soil.”

Helping farmers use resources wisely

The researchers have established a field site to validate their model by analyzing the composition of nitrogen, oxygen and water in runoff. They hope their work can help farmers more efficiently use resources while also reducing contamination of water sources and downstream habitats.

“The idea of using age for chemical analysis is not new, but no one has studied nitrogen age in the context of an agricultural setting,” Kumar said. “By doing that, we are able to reveal patterns of stagnation in the soil, which is different than just using the concentration of nitrogen. The main idea is that there is a better way to apply fertilizer over a landscape than we do presently. We should be looking into more precise approaches.”

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