The Conversation

Nitrogen fertilisers are incredibly efficient, but they make climate change a lot worse

Author: Pep Canadell, Chief research scientist, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere; and Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO

Sustainable farming can reduce nitrous oxide emissions.eutrophication&hypoxia/Flickr, CC BY-SA

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) (more commonly known as laughing gas) is a powerful contributor to global warming. It is 265 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide and depletes our ozone layer.

Human-driven N₂O...

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