From Gas to Green: Why Europe Cannot Ignore Fertilizer’s Hidden Carbon Footprint
By Petra Schwager
This article represents the views of the external contributor.
When we talk about climate change, the usual suspects—smokestacks, airplanes, and automobiles—often come to mind. However, there is another, often overlooked culprit that is essential to global food systems and carries a substantial carbon cost: fertilizer.
Ammonia-based fertilizers are critical to feeding nearly half of the world’s population. Without them, the agricultural revolution of the last century would not have occurred. Yet the current method of production comes at a significant cost: the traditional Haber-Bosch process, which converts hydrogen from natural gas and nitrogen from the air into ammonia, consumes 2% of global energy and emits more greenhouse gases than aviation and shipping combined.
When gas prices spiked after the war in Ukraine began, fertilizer plants across Europe scrambled for feedstock. Farmers paid two to three times the global average, driving up food prices. Fertilizer exemplifies how energy, food security, and geopolitics are tightly linked, not only in Europe but globally.
Hydrogen: A Potential Solution
If the hydrogen required for ammonia production can be sourced from renewable energy such as wind and solar rather than natural gas, green ammonia could drastically reduce emissions from fertilizer production. Coupled with smarter in-field fertilizer application, the world could cut a massive hidden source of greenhouse gases while making food systems more resilient.
Cost Challenge
Producing fertilizers from renewable hydrogen is currently two to four times more expensive than fossil-based methods—the so-called “green premium.” However, this gap can shrink as technologies scale, renewable power costs fall, and policies spread costs more equitably. Some major food companies are already piloting low-emission fertilizers in their supply chains. If European retailers and agribusinesses coordinate, the impact could be transformative.
Hydrogen’s Role in Food Security
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) promotes inclusive and sustainable industrial development. Its Global Programme for Hydrogen in Industry (GPHI) supports viable industrial uses of hydrogen, with fertilizer production as a key priority.
The fertilizer industry can serve as a strategic lead market to stimulate hydrogen demand while contributing to both food security and decarbonization. UNIDO, in collaboration with the Hydrogen Council, Hydrogen Europe, and partner countries, fosters value-chain cooperation—from hydrogen producers and fertilizer manufacturers to food companies and retailers—to accelerate adoption of low-emission fertilizers at scale.
Examples include:
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OCP Group (Morocco), one of the world’s largest phosphate-based fertilizer producers, investing heavily in decarbonizing its operations with green ammonia.
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Daures Green Hydrogen Village (Namibia), supported by UNIDO, piloting green ammonia and fertilizer production for local agriculture.
These projects demonstrate that countries can reduce emissions while improving fertilizer access, strengthening food security, and developing new green industries.
Implications for the Global South
In many sub-Saharan African countries, farmers pay $200–300 more per ton of fertilizer than the global average due to high transport and import costs. During global price spikes in 2020–21, Kenya saw fertilizer prices rise by over 50%, maize production collapse, and food prices surge. Local production from renewable hydrogen could:
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Reduce emissions
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Improve food security
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Create jobs
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Reduce dependence on volatile fossil markets
A UNIDO study found that many governments already spend significant resources on fertilizer subsidies—up to several percent of GDP. In countries like Ghana, Malawi, and Zambia, subsidies account for nearly half of agricultural expenditure. Redirecting support toward cleaner alternatives would help farmers access climate-friendly fertilizers.
Opportunity for Europe
Europe could help eliminate a carbon-intensive agricultural input and move the sector toward climate neutrality. Initiatives such as EU Global Gateway position Europe as a partner for sustainable industrialization and help create a lead market for green fertilizers.
Supporting low-emission fertilizer development abroad offers threefold benefits:
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Advance climate goals
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Strengthen food security
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Open new markets for European technology
For industry, this means first-mover advantage. For consumers, it enables climate-conscious choices with minimal extra cost.
Global ammonia demand is projected to rise 25% by 2050. If met using fossil-fuel-based production, fertilizer emissions alone could negate progress made in other sectors. Acting now could transform one of the world’s most polluting industries into a cornerstone of sustainability.
Conclusion
Hydrogen in fertilizer production is a true game-changer. Technology exists, policy momentum is building, and international partnerships are ready. What is needed now is leadership—from governments, industry, and institutions like the EU—to link climate, trade, and development.
UNIDO’s ONE World Sustainability Awards celebrate transformative solutions such as low-emission hydrogen and scaling innovations for maximum impact. The future will not wait, and now is the time to realize the potential of innovative decarbonization technologies.
As Europe revisits its hydrogen strategy and implements the Clean Industrial Deal and Net Zero Industry Act, it must remember: the path to net-zero runs through Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where low-emission fertilizers can determine the difference between food insecurity and resilience, between rising emissions and a genuine green transition.
