Consumption of Nitrogen Fertilizers in the EU—External Costs of Their Production by Country of Application

Summary

The production of nitrogen fertilizers results in multiple negative environmental impacts. A particularly important aspect is its energy consumption. Analyses covering the product’s life cycle indicate that the greatest environmental harm is generated at the stage of production due to the resulting nitrogen dioxide emissions. The aim of this study was to assess the economic value of the environmental harm caused by the production of the nitrogen fertilizers used in EU farming. The assessment of the environmental damage resulting from the production of mineral nitrogen fertilizers was conducted through a life cycle assessment (LCA). A ‘gate-to-gate’ approach was applied using Sima Pro 7.1.0.2 software, with the ecoinvent 3 and agri-footprint 5 databases. The value of the external costs for