SinoXivA decade of missed opportunities: how Europe went off-track to reduce nitrogen pollution over the last decade
Abstract
The European Union's Green Deal aims to reduce nutrient losses to air and water by 50% by 2030, requiring a substantial reduction in nitrogen (N) surplus from agricultural land. Using Europe-wide datasets of N budget, we show that cropland N surplus declined during 1990–2010 but reversed in 2011–2020 due largely to increasing synthetic fertilizer use and relatively lower crop N uptake. Our assessment highlights the need for improved nitrogen-use efficiency and regionally tailored strategies, while considering climate change impacts on N uptake, to reduce N pollution and meet EU environmental targets.
Citation Information
@article{masoomabatool2026,
title={A decade of missed opportunities: how Europe went off-track to reduce nitrogen pollution over the last decade},
author={Masooma Batool and Wim De Vries and Gerard H. Ros and Mark Sutton and Fanny Sarrazin and Udit Bhatia and Shekhar Goyal and Guy Peer and Rohini Kumar},
journal={Nature Portfolio},
year={2026},
doi={https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9290508/v1}
}
