Journal of Science Policy & Governance
Volume 25, Issue 01 | October 28, 2024

Policy Memo: Decarbonization of Nitrogen Fertilizers, from Production to Runoff: A Policy Memo

Luis Delgado1,4, Mason Klemm2,4, Matias Milia3,4,6, Alyssa Rudelis4, Emilie Sinkler4,5
  1. Pennsylvania State University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Park, PA
  2. Rice University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Houston, TX
  3. University of Notre Dame, Department of Anthropology, Notre Dame, IN
  4. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellowship 2024, Washington, DC
  5. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Geosciences, Fairbanks, AK
  6. ​Open Environmental Data Project, New Orleans, LA

All authors contributed equally.

​​​Corresponding author:  [email protected] ​​
Keywords: fertilizer; decarbonization; food security; agriculture; climate change; regenerative; sequestration
https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG250106

Executive Summary

Decarbonization of agriculture is critical to reshaping the US economy as climate-resilient and less carbon-intensive. Decarbonizing nitrogen fertilizers specifically is increasingly important for the US to achieve its climate targets while feeding a growing population in a changing climate, as around 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions result from nitrogen fertilizers alone. Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from fertilizer come from non-renewable energy use, chemical processes, transportation, and on-farm applications. These emissions typically take the form of carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide, potent greenhouse gasses. To reduce emissions from nitrogen fertilizers, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Department of Energy (DOE) should 1) create federal regulations for nitrogen fertilizer use, 2) provide financial incentives for farmers transitioning to less-intensive nitrogen fertilizer use, and 3) create a research grant solicitation focused on regional methods for reducing nitrogen fertilizer use and the creation of green hydrogen.

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Background header image courtesy of motherjones
Luis Delgado is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at El Paso and a M.S. in Civil Engineering with a minor in Public Policy from Pennsylvania State University. 

Mason Klemm is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University. His research focuses on the interplay of exotic electronic, magnetic, and structural phenomena in crystalline materials via a combination of neutron scattering and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments.

Matias Milia is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the University of Notre Dame and a Research Fellow for the Open Environmental Data Project. He has a Ph.D. in Social Science Research from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Mexico. From translational lenses, he works on the overlap between digital technologies and environmental challenges. 

Dr. Alyssa Rudelis earned her Ph.D. in atomic physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2023. During her Ph.D., Alyssa developed a new hardware platform for quantum computing based on high-finesse optical cavities and neutral atom quantum bits. Alyssa has also advised Chair David Hochschild on energy policy at the California Energy Commission and was honored as a Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences. Alyssa is now a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the U.S. Congress.

Emilie Sinkler is a Ph.D. Candidate in Geophysics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She researches ice flow in Antarctica through borehole deformation in order to improve ice flow models, which can be used to date ice cores or predict future sea level rise.

Acknowledgments
We thank Robin Schoen, Director of the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources at the National Academy of Sciences, and Alex Reich, Program Officer at Climate Crossroads, for their valuable comments and suggestions while framing this work. Their insights have significantly enhanced the quality of our work, and we are grateful for their contribution.

Disclaimer
The order in which the authors are listed is based on alphabetical order and does not represent the contribution of any individual author. All authors have contributed equally to this piece. Any views expressed in this article reflect those of the authors and should not be seen as official position statements by any of the affiliated institutions, departments or fellowship programs.​

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