When we talk about climate change, the usual suspects such as smokestacks, airplanes, and automobiles tend to come to mind. Yet there is another, often overlooked culprit that is essential to our food systems yet which carries a heavy carbon cost: fertilizer.
Ammonia-based fertilizers are critical to providing food for nearly half of the world's population. Without them, the last century's agricultural revolution would not have happened. Yet the way in which they are currently produced comes at a cost: the traditional Haber-Bosch process, which converts hydrogen from natural gas and nitrogen from the air into ammonia, accounts for 2% of global energy consumption and emits more greenhouse gases than aviation and shipping combined.
When gas prices spiked after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, fertilizer plants across Europe scrambled for feedstock. Farmers paid double or triple the global average, driving up food prices. Fertilizer is an illustrative example of how tightly energy, food security, and geopolitics are linked, not only in Europe but the world over.
This is where hydrogen enters the story. If the hydrogen demand for ammonia production can be satisfied with renewable sources such as wind and solar, instead of natural gas, the resulting “green ammonia” can slash emissions from fertilizer production. Alongside smarter in-field application of fertilizers, the world could cut a massive hidden source of greenhouse gases while making food systems more resilient.
The challenge is cost. Producing fertilizers from renewable hydrogen today is two to four times more expensive than fossil-based methods - the so-called “green premium.” But this gap can close as technologies scale, renewable power becomes cheaper, and policies spread costs more fairly. Already, some large food companies are piloting low-emission fertilizers in their supply chains. Imagine the impact if European retailers and agribusinesses joined forces to demand greener inputs.
Hydrogen's role in food security
The United Nations for Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has a unique mandate to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development. Our Global Program for Hydrogen in Industry (GPHI) promotes viable industrial use cases for hydrogen, and fertilizer production is one of the most urgent.
The fertilizer industry can play a critical role as a strategic lead market to drive demand for hydrogen, while also contributing to both food security and decarbonization. Together with our partner countries, the Hydrogen Council and Hydrogen Europe, UNIDO is fostering cooperation across the value chain, from hydrogen producers and fertilizer makers to food companies and retailers, to stimulate demand and accelerate adoption of low-emissions fertilizers at scale.
There are already examples: Morocco-based OCP Group, one of the world's largest phosphate-based fertilizer producers, is investing heavily to decarbonize its operations through green ammonia.
In Namibia, the Daures Green Hydrogen Village, supported by UNIDO, is piloting green ammonia and fertilizer production for local agriculture. Small or large scale, such projects show the potential for countries to not only decarbonize but also improve fertilizer access, food security and build new green industries.
The Daures Green Hydrogen Village in Namibia, supported by UNIDO, is piloting green ammonia and fertilizer production for local agriculture. Credit: UNITED
For the Global South, the stakes are enormous. Farmers in many sub-Saharan African countries pay $200–300 more per tonne of fertilizer than the global average due to high transportation and import costs. When global prices emerged in 2020-21, Kenya saw an over 50% price hike, the country's maize production plummeted, and food prices soared. Local production of fertilizers from renewable hydrogen could reduce emissions, improve food security, create jobs, and cut dependence on volatile fossil markets.
A recent UNIDO study on fertilizer showed that governments already devote substantial resources to fertilizer subsidies, even up to several percent of GDP. In countries like Ghana, Malawi, and Zambia, these subsidies account for nearly half of all agricultural spending. Redirecting such support toward cleaner alternatives would help farmers access more climate-friendly fertilizers.
This is not charity but a partnership opportunity. Europe could help eliminate a carbon-intensive agricultural input and leap the agricultural sector towards climate neutrality. The EU Global Gateway and other initiatives promoting low-emission hydrogen production abroad already position Europe as a partner for sustainable industrialization and to push demand creation for a fertilizer lead market.
For Brussels policymakers, supporting low-emission fertilizer development abroad offers a triple dividend: advancing climate goals, strengthening food security, and opening new markets for European technology. For industry, it means building first-mover advantages in a sector bound to transform. For consumers, it means a conscious choice for climate-friendly shopping baskets at marginal extra cost.
By 2050, global ammonia demand will rise by 25%. If met with today's fossil-fuel methods, fertilizer emissions alone could undo much of the progress in other sectors. But if we act now, one of the world's most polluting industries could become a cornerstone of sustainability.
Hydrogen in fertilizer production can be a real gamechanger. The technology exists, policy momentum is building, and international partnerships are ready. What's needed now is leadership - from governments, from industry, and from institutions like the EU which can connect the dots between climate, trade, and development.
Such solutions need encouragement, which is why UNIDO has launched the ONE World Sustainability Awards to celebrate transformative solutions like low-emission hydrogen and scaling up for maximum impact. The future will not wait, and now is the time to act to realize the potential offered by innovative new technologies for decarbonization.
As Europe revisits its hydrogen strategy and implements the Clean Industrial Deal and the Net Zero Industry Act, it should remember: the path to net-zero runs through the fields of Africa, Asia, and Latin America - where low-emission fertilizers could make the difference between food insecurity and resilience, between rising emissions and a genuine green transition.
