Yara to Align Emission Reduction Goals with Paris Agreement Targets

An SDA enables fertilizer companies to set GHG emission reduction targets which are aligned with the goals in the Paris agreement. While the Paris agreement covers the setting of targets and reducing emissions at a country level, the private sector has also engaged significantly to support the climate goals.

Being an energy-intensive, largely fossil-based industry, the nitrogen fertilizer sector has high emissions intensity and is recognized as a hard-to-abate industry.

Ensuring enough food for a growing global population while preventing the most harmful effects of climate change is the challenge of a lifetime. Decoupling environmental impacts from economic activity is required, and this Sectoral Decarbonization Approach will guide company strategies for reducing emissions.

An SDA is one of the three possible methods for setting a Science Based Target, a target in line with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increase well below 2°C compared to preindustrial temperatures.

Based on the SDA process, Yara has submitted a commitment to set a Science Based Target to the Science Based Targets Initiative.

“Yara has voiced support for the Paris Agreement since its inauguration, and based on the partnership effort, we are ready to put the next stake in the ground: defining emission reduction targets which will deliver on the Paris Agreement’s goals,” says Svein Tore Holsether, CEO and President of Yara.

The analysis required for determining a Sectoral Decarbonization Approach is expected to be finalized in 2022.

Although initiated by the two largest companies in the industry, Yara and Nutrien will alongside WBCSD invite other companies in the sector to join the project, creating a more coherent, scientific and ambitious approach to reducing the emissions from the fertilizer industry.