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WASHINGTON , Oct. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Chemical fertilizers derived from fossil fuels ("fossil fertilizers") are an underrecognized driver of climate change, biodiversity loss, and toxic pollution, yet the fertilizer industry increasingly portrays itself as part of the solution to these converging planetary crises. Together with oil and gas companies, agrochemical producers are promoting carbon capture and storage (CCS) and fossil fuel-derived hydrogen and ammonia to secure additional revenue streams for business-as-usual production.
A new report from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) reveals how these trends risk deepening reliance on fossil fuels and industrial agriculture precisely when they need to be phased out. This new business model extends the fossil economy in the midst of a climate emergency pushing the world further past planetary boundaries to the detriment of ecosystems and human rights.
Steven Feit , report co-author, said "Fossil fertilizers are both a key target for oil production and the leading edge of the fossil fuel-enabling schemes. The combination of CCS, blue hydrogen, and blue ammonia at the heart of expansion plans threaten to impede climate action while entrenching polluting industries and undermining food sovereignty. Governments and the public should see through the greenwashing and take action to close these escape hatches. Anything else will prolong the inevitable and necessary transition from the fossil economy."
Lili Fuhr , report co-author said, "Fossil fertilizers enable a corporate-controlled model for industrial agriculture that pushes monocultures and high-yields while sending humanity hurtling toward dangerously risky territory. Like carbon in the atmosphere and microplastics in our soils and waters: fossil fertilizers and pesticides are fossil fuel pollution. Untethering food production from them is essential for advancing climate justice and food sovereignty. We need to close the oil and gas tab for the agrochemical industry if we truly want to scale up resilient, regenerative models of food production so ecosystems and communities can thrive."
Read the report and executive summary.
Media contact: Cate Bonacini: [email protected] , +1-202-742-5847
SOURCE Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
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