On August 4, 2020, practically 2,750 tonnes of improperly saved ammonium nitrate exploded within the seaport in Beirut, killing greater than 200 individuals, injuring greater than 6,000, and displacing 1000’s from their houses. As Beirut residents nonetheless await solutions from the official investigation, it will be significant to not brush apart this incident because the product of remarkable circumstances.
The widespread use of ammonium nitrate makes related lethal explosions fairly potential the world over. Equally regarding is the numerous position this chemical performs in environmental degradation and local weather change, which can also be lethal. That’s the reason it’s essential that the worldwide neighborhood takes motion past aiding the Lebanese authorities within the aftermath of the explosion.
Ammonium nitrate is an odourless substance that’s generally used to make fertiliser and explosives. Nitrogen fertiliser manufacturing accounts for practically 1.2 p.c of world main power demand, generates pollution like advantageous mud, nitric acid emissions, and produces wastewater which will include phosphorus, fluorides, ammonia, carbon dioxide, or weak acids. About 80 p.c of manufactured ammonium nitrate is used for fertiliser, notably within the international agro-industrial system.
Nitrogen is crucial for plant progress. Ammonium nitrate fertiliser gained recognition after World Conflict II as a reasonable supply of plant vitamins. Vegetation can extra simply take up artificial fertiliser than naturally occurring nitrogen within the soil. The widespread use of nitrogen-based fertilisers has elevated crop yields. Nonetheless, fertiliser overuse has depleted naturally-occurring vitamins within the soil, making the agro-industrial system reliant on fertilisers to assist its productiveness.
The overreliance on exterior inputs, reminiscent of ammonium nitrate, additionally comes on the expense of the well being of farmworkers and shoppers, the surroundings, and our local weather.
Nitrogen-rich fertilisers are a key supply of ammonia emissions, which mix with different air pollution to kind advantageous particulate matter. Particulate matter publicity could cause coronary heart and pulmonary illness and has been linked to 1000’s of untimely deaths in rural farming communities. Direct chemical publicity is very dangerous to farmworkers who recurrently come into contact with fertilisers and different inputs.
Ammonium nitrate and its manufacturing additionally contribute to international warming. Using nitrogen fertilisers, together with manures and different agricultural sources, accounts for practically 60 p.c of nitrous oxide emissions. Nitrous oxide is a strong greenhouse fuel that may entice warmth 300 instances greater than carbon dioxide, contributing to rising international temperatures.
Vitamins that aren’t absorbed by the soil or crops contaminate water sources, which is dangerous to aquatic life. A visual expression of this disturbance is the annual useless zones within the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of Oman. Useless zones are brought on by eutrophication, which occurs when a physique of water is contaminated by extra vitamins. Eutrophication will increase algal progress, depletes oxygen within the water, and ends in an surroundings the place marine life can’t survive.
Moreover, the widespread overreliance on artificial fertiliser is disrupting the Earth’s pure nitrogen cycle, which is certainly one of Earth’s 9 planetary boundaries. Planetary boundaries outline the protected working areas for humanity, which, as soon as crossed, could cause irreversible environmental harm which will have disastrous repercussions for our present lifestyle. Regulating the Earth’s pure nitrogen ranges within the air, soil, and water, are essential to maintain life and guarantee a wholesome surroundings. This requires rethinking international meals manufacturing strategies that don’t transgress Earth’s planetary boundaries.
So as to keep away from future incidents just like the explosion in Beirut, but additionally sort out local weather change and environmental degradation, now we have to curb the usage of ammonium nitrate.
Some could argue that lowering the usage of fertilisers would threaten meals safety and sovereignty, particularly in areas vulnerable to famine. However that isn’t the case. Agroecology is rising as a holistic reply to the problem of rising sufficient meals to feed ourselves with out damaging the surroundings or contributing to international warming.
Agroecology is an built-in strategy to agriculture that seeks to optimise the interactions between crops, animals, people, and the surroundings to allow sustainable and truthful meals manufacturing primarily based on native information and conventional agricultural practices. This strategy may help meet the worldwide wants of meals sovereignty and meals safety in a world that seeks to divest from carbon and nitrogen.
Worldwide local weather initiatives are starting to concentrate to agroecology. For instance, underneath the UN Framework Conference on Local weather Change and its Koronivia joint work on agriculture, the Local weather Dialogues have mentioned the intersection of meals safety and local weather change. It’s encouraging that states are starting to incorporate agroecology of their Nationally Decided Contributions and Nationwide Adaptation Plans underneath the Paris Settlement on Local weather Change.
Nonetheless, what’s at the moment being performed will not be practically sufficient. For instance, in a few months, UN Secretary-Normal António Guterres is convening the 2021 Meals Programs Summit, which seeks to “remodel the way in which the world produces and consumes meals”. This high-level occasion, nevertheless, seems dominated by agro-industrial pursuits, that are resisting divestment from nitrogen. In the meantime, the ammonium nitrate market continues to develop and by 2026 is anticipated to be value $19bn.
The 2021 Meals Programs Summit ought to make agroecology the centrepiece of its technique for the realisation of the suitable to meals and the suitable to a wholesome surroundings. The summit ought to talk about the current requires international agricultural subsidy reform to handle agriculture’s position within the local weather disaster.
The summit will be step one in direction of divestment from nitrogen. The UN ought to work with its members in direction of eradicating subsidies for nitrogen-based fertilisers. It also needs to encourage international locations that give out agricultural subsidies (at the moment amounting to $480bn globally) to prioritise crops which might be much less emission-intensive and to fund analysis and growth of sustainable farming practices.
The Beirut explosion was avoidable. So are local weather change, useless zones within the seas, and the disruption of the worldwide nitrogen cycle. Pressing motion is required to save lots of human lives and our planet.
The views expressed on this article are the writer’s personal and don’t essentially mirror Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.