Natural gas and other inputs are required in fertilizer manufacture for feedstock and energy, thereby generating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, primarily carbon dioxide (CO₂).

• Carbon dioxide in flue gases from potash, phosphate and nitrogen operations.
• Carbon dioxide in process gases from nitrogen operations.

Normalized GHGs

Greenhouse gas emissions at PotashCorp's phosphate operations have declined significantly since 2002 on a normalized basis (adjusted for production increases). In the nitrogen operations, GHG emissions rose due to an increase in the amount of CO₂ vented from the production process following Trinidad's expansion beginning in 2005. In the potash operations, normalized greenhouse gas emissions declined significantly between 2002 and 2005, but increased in 2006 because of inefficiencies related to production interruptions.

Indirect Greenhouse Gas Emissions

GHG emissions that result from purchased electricity used by PotashCorp operations are not tracked.

Although PotashCorp produced 7.7 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2006, what these emissions numbers don't show is the significant role fertilizers play in the overall reduction of global GHG emissions through the enhancement of crop production and preservation of forests.

Plants and trees are two of the planet's greatest assets in the reduction of greenhouse gases. As plants and trees grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to produce leaves, stems, roots and grain or seeds. Fertilizers play two key roles in this process: first, they are essential to agriculture to increase crop yield; second, by significantly improving crop yield per acre, they reduce the need to convert forest into agricultural land. Without fertilizers to increase the productivity of the soil, the world would need approximately 50 percent more farmland to produce enough food for its growing population. 

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, forest and agricultural lands in the US currently comprise a net carbon sink (offset) of almost 830 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. This carbon sink – over 90 percent of which occurs on forest lands – offsets 12 percent of US GHG emissions from all sectors of the economy on an annual basis.

With their integral role in the enhancement of crop growth and preservation of forest ecosystems, it is difficult to downplay the role of fertilizers in contributing to the mitigation of GHGs.