News » European Nitrogen Assessment - where next?

Six years after publication of the first European Nitrogen Assessment(ENA), Mark Sutton and other authors, including the European CommissionJRC, assess the outcomes and future research challenges. The ENAincreased attention to the nitrogen cycle, as a whole, and pioneeredsimilar assessments at the global level and on other continents. Otheroutcomes include developing a compendium of practical measures tomitigate farm ammonia emissions, endorsed by European farmersorganisations and UNECE. Key research challenges identified are the needto emphasise more on reducing agricultural nitrogen losses, assignificant progress has been now achieved in reducing nitrogenemissions from electricity production and road vehicles. Europe losessome 22 million tonnes of nitrogen per year, that is around ?18 billionvalue as fertiliser ? equivalent to around a quarter of the EU?s CommonAgricultural Policy budget. The authors note that this shows the need tostrongly develop nitrogen recovery and recycling, in particular fromorganic wastes. Food choice is also an important area for action,because food choices dominate personal nitrogen footprints.

?The European Nitrogen Assessment 6years after: What was the outcome and what are the future researchchallenges??, M. Sutton et al., Published in: Innovative Solutions forSustainable Management of Nitrogen. Proceedings of the InternationalConference, Aarhus, Denmark (25-28 June 2017): www.sustainablesoils.org/s/The-European-Nitrogen-Assessment-Prof-Mark-Sutton-003.pdf

Source: European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform (ESPP) eNews no 22 about nutrient recycling & stewardship.