Beyond Carbon: Nitrogen Management and the Missing Dimension in Global Fertilizer Sustainability Frameworks

Sustainability frameworks on a global scale, such as the Paris Agreement and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, have influenced how governments currently formulate fertilizer policies, primarily from the carbon perspective. The specific effects of nitrate leaching, residual nitrogen losses and the long-term implications of these on water quality, soil health and the stability of ecosystems, have been less emphasized in international policies, and through the research that helps to inform them. There are currently no agricultural sustainability frameworks that adequately account for all environmental and social costs associated with nitrogen. This study has looked at nine different countries (China, India, USA, Brazil, EU, Denmark, Great Britain, South Africa and Australia) to see if governments are focused on carbon reduction versus the more effective management of nitrogen (through an examination of the peer-reviewed literature). A total of 38 peer-reviewed papers published between 1989 and 2026, from Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Springer Nature, MDPI, Frontiers, PLOS ONE, and Nature/Scientific Reports were examined; the policy frameworks for each of the nine countries were then reviewed and compared using a structured table. The results demonstrated that all of the countries are focused on agricultural carbon rather than nitrogen. Each of the countries studied have limited regulations on nitrate leaching, groundwater contamination, and nitrogen use efficiency even though there is a considerable amount of scientific evidence documenting their negative effects on the environment. As global fertiliser use continues to increase, the gap between scientific evidence and policy coverage has potential implications for environmental and public health. A dual carbon-nitrogen approach within international frameworks is presented as one possible direction for more complete fertiliser sustainability governance.