Green Urea Revolution: Transforming India's Agriculture and Energy Sectors
Key Ideas
- iFOREST's report highlights the significance of transitioning the Urea sector in India towards a green and sustainable future.
- The report emphasizes the economic and environmental benefits of a Green Urea Mission, projecting a trillion-dollar net benefit over the next 25 years.
- Key findings indicate the need for optimizing Urea consumption, modernizing production facilities, and integrating Green Hydrogen for decarbonization.
- By adopting the proposed Green Urea Mission with specific targets, India can halve Urea consumption by 2050, eliminate imports, reduce subsidies, and mitigate GHG emissions and pollution significantly.
The International Forum for Environment, Sustainability, and Technology (iFOREST) released a groundbreaking report titled 'Green Urea: Economic and Environmental Benefits of a Low-Carbon Future' at a multistakeholder meeting in India. The report advocates for the transformation of the Urea sector to enhance food and energy security, reduce environmental costs, and support small farmers. Key stakeholders from government and industry expressed their support for decarbonizing Urea manufacturing and promoting green urea production. Challenges such as higher technology costs were acknowledged, but the importance of government policies to mitigate these challenges was highlighted.
The report's findings underscore the urgency of optimizing Urea consumption and decarbonizing production in India. It reveals that current Urea consumption levels pose risks to food security and contribute significantly to environmental pollution. The report proposes a Low-Carbon Pathway for the Urea sector, emphasizing the importance of transitioning to Green Urea production using Green Hydrogen.
iFOREST recommends the integration of the Urea sector into India's National Green Hydrogen Mission to facilitate the transition to Green Urea by 2050. The proposed Green Urea Mission aims to reduce Urea consumption, eliminate imports, and enhance sustainability in the sector, leading to substantial economic and environmental benefits. The report also calls for decontrol of the Urea sector to drive innovation and meet Net Zero targets.
By setting clear targets for the Green Urea Mission, such as increasing non-chemical farming, improving nitrogen use efficiency, and reducing Urea proportions in fertilizers, India can achieve significant reductions in GHG emissions, pollution, and subsidies while enhancing energy and food security. The report projects a trillion-dollar net benefit over the next 25 years if the Green Urea Mission is successfully implemented, marking a transformative shift towards a sustainable and green future for India's agriculture and energy sectors.