More than 190 top international scientists, led by Professor Mark Sutton of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), are calling on the world to take urgent action on nitrogen pollution.
The scientists highlight that “the present environmental crisis is much more than a carbon problem” and are asking all countries “to wake up to the challenge” of halving nitrogen waste from all sources globally by 2030.
Nitrogen, through its many forms – which include ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, nitrous oxide (‘laughing gas’, a greenhouse gas 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide) and nitrate – is polluting our air, soil and water, posing a threat to human health, biodiversity, economies and livelihoods.
A future focus on sustainable nitrogen management would help prevent millions of premature deaths, help ensure food security, and simultaneously help protect wildlife and the ozone layer.
Read more at Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Image: Testing of nitrogen flux measurement methods over rice in Odisha, India. (Credit: Mark Sutton)