{"id":71463,"date":"2026-01-16T11:43:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.i4ce.org\/macf-engrais-sanctuariser-budgets-aider-agriculteurs-reduire-usage-engrais-mineraux-climat\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T10:34:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T09:34:57","slug":"cbam-fertilisers-ring-fencing-budgets-help-farmers-reduce-use-mineral-fertilisers-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.i4ce.org\/en\/cbam-fertilisers-ring-fencing-budgets-help-farmers-reduce-use-mineral-fertilisers-climate\/","title":{"rendered":"CBAM and fertilisers: ring-fencing budgets to help farmers reduce their use of mineral fertilisers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) came into force on 1 January 2026. It is a carbon tax applied at the borders of the European Union to imports of certain industrial products covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Nitrogen-based mineral fertilisers are included in this initial list of products.\u00a0To avoid an increase in costs for the farmers concerned, the level of the tax has been reduced for fertilisers, and they may even be temporarily excluded from the scope of the CBAM. Yet, for the climate, but also for France\u2019s strategic independence and food sovereignty, the CBAM will ultimately have to be fully applied to mineral fertilisers. To limit or even avoid an increase in farmers\u2019 fertiliser expenditure, we need public policies \u2013 some of which are currently under threat. Ring-fencing budgets for these policies would be a way to support farmers\u2019 incomes and the food sovereignty of both the European Union and France, while reducing the carbon footprint of our food system.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A CBAM on nitrogen fertilisers would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also strengthening France\u2019s strategic independence and food sovereignty\u2026<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The primary\u00a0objective\u00a0of the CBAM is to reduce \u201ccarbon leakage\u201d linked to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). This system increases the cost of EU production subject to it, which can encourage greater imports and thus shift CO\u2082 emissions elsewhere without reducing them overall. By taxing the carbon content of products imported from non-EU countries at the same level as the carbon price within the EU, the CBAM removes the comparative advantage of imports and contributes both to climate\u00a0objectives\u00a0and to the competitiveness of European industries.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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In its\u00a0initial\u00a0phase, the CBAM covers so-called \u201csimple\u201d products that are at\u00a0high risk\u00a0of carbon leakage. Nitrogen-based mineral fertilisers, widely used in crop production, are among these products. However, on 7 January 2026,\u00a0<\/span>the French Minister of Agriculture announced<\/span><\/a> that\u00a0<\/span>it<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>had secured the temporary exclusion of fertilisers from the mechanism (retroactive to 1 January).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yet, particularly for France, a CBAM on fertilisers would be a powerful lever for strategic independence and food sovereignty.\u00a0<\/span>France is the largest importer of nitrogen fertilisers in the EU<\/span><\/a>: in 2024, more than two-thirds of the nitrogen consumed was imported (<\/span>source 1<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>source 2<\/span><\/a>), generating a trade deficit of \u20ac1.1 billion. While 60% of these imported nitrogen fertilisers come from within the European Union, the remainder mainly comes from Egypt, Algeria, the United States, Russia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Reducing these imports would also reduce our dependence on these countries for a product as strategic as fertilisers for French agricultural and food production. This objective should be <\/span>even<\/span>\u00a0more of a priority in 2026, as the \u201cfood sovereignty conferences\u201d required by the Agricultural Orientation Act are due to begin.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2026but\u00a0<\/b>risk <\/b>increas<\/b>ing <\/b>farmers\u2019 costs if\u00a0<\/b>the right <\/b>public policies are not implemented<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The CBAM increases the cost of fertilisers for importers, and therefore for farmers. The level of the tax has thus been limited for fertilisers,\u00a0<\/span>reducing the additional cost to around\u00a07% in 2026 according to the European Commission<\/span><\/a>, and fertilisers may be temporarily excluded from the scope of the tax. However, this\u00a0additional\u00a0cost will eventually materialise once the CBAM provisions are fully applied. Without other changes, this would lead to a substantial increase in fertiliser costs for arable farming sectors (cereals,\u00a0oilseeds\u00a0and protein crops, etc.), which have already experienced three consecutive years of unfavourable economic conditions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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This increase in costs is not inevitable. Although it is far from easy, farmers can reduce their use of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers. Consumption\u00a0<\/span>has already fallen by 15% since 2020<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in response to price increases caused by the war in Ukraine. The draft\u00a0<\/span>National Low-Carbon Strategy<\/span><\/a>\u00a0plans a further reduction of the same\u00a0magnitude\u00a0by 2030, and a halving by 2050 compared with 2020 levels.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Three main, non-mutually exclusive pathways are available to farmers to reduce their consumption of nitrogen fertilisers, <\/span>outlined<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>here in order of increasing difficulty of implementation:<\/span><\/p>\n

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