Societal benefits of halving agricultural ammonia emissions in China far exceed the abatement costs

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 4357 - 10
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xiuming, Gu, Baojing, van Grinsven, Hans, Lam, Shu Kee, Liang, Xia, Bai, Mei, Chen, Deli
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 31.08.2020; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 704/172/4081; 704/844/4081; 706/1143; Agricultural production; Ammonia; Animal feed; Cost benefit analysis; Damage; Economic analysis; Economic impact; Ecosystem assessment; Emissions; Feeds; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Pollution control costs; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); United States > US; China
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18196-z

Mitigating agricultural ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions in China is urgently needed to avoid further damage to human and ecosystem health. Effective and feasible mitigation strategies hinge on integrated knowledge of the mitigation potential of NH 3 emissions and the associated economic costs and societal benefits. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of marginal abatement costs and societal benefits for NH 3 mitigation in China. The technical mitigation potential of agricultural NH 3 emissions is 38–67% (4.0–7.1 Tg N) with implementation costs estimated at US$ 6–11 billion. These costs are much lower than estimates of the overall societal benefits at US$ 18–42 billion. Avoiding unnecessary fertilizer use and protein-rich animal feed could provide 30% of this mitigation potential without additional abatement costs or decreases in agricultural productivity. Optimizing human diets with less animal-derived products offers further potential for NH 3 reduction of 12% by 2050. Global largest agricultural ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions in China have caused severe damage to both ecosystem and human health, yet no policy is formulated to reduce NH 3 emissions. Here, the authors show that halving agricultural NH 3 emissions with feasible technical mitigation options in China generates far more societal benefits than abatement costs.