No Fertilisers, No Food Security
Without fertilisers or imports, how are we going to feed ourselves?
Introduction
We heard in July that CF Fertilisers was going to permanently close the last fertiliser plant in the UK. Farmers are concerned that that this will make the UK market more reliant on imports from abroad. The plant manufactured ammonia, an essential ingredient in nitrogen fertilisers. The reason it closed is high UK gas prices and the additional impact of carbon costs. Instead, we will have to import ammonia from North America where gas prices are much lower, in fact four times lower. This article explores the implications of this decision and the part Net Zero is playing in hollowing out essential industries.
Global Ammonia Production
According to Index Mundi, China is the world’s largest producer of ammonia, with India, Russia and the US making up the next three top producers. Every other G7 nation, including Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy have domestic ammonia production facilities. With the demise of the CF Fertiliser’s Billingham plant, the UK will be the sole G7 member without an ammonia plant, although ammonia production in Germany is under threat because of high gas prices. UK gas prices are four times those in the US (see Figure 1, using data from Trading Economics). For large users we also add on a carbon tax to make us even more uncompetitive.
How can it be that the fifth-largest economy in the world, G7 member, permanent member of the UN Security Council and nuclear power is no longer competitive at making the basic building blocks that support our existence on this planet?
Implications of Fertiliser Plant Closure
The result of this closure is that the UK will now have to import ammonia, probably from the US, further worsening our trade deficit. The jobs associated with the CF Fertiliser plant have gone, exported abroad. If anything, global emissions will go up, because hydrocarbons will have to be burned to ship ammonia all the way across the Atlantic to the UK. In short, economic destruction and a worsening of global emissions.
The Net Zero Future Without Fertilisers
A closer look at the whole Net Zero agenda reveals a bleak future. UK FIRES published a report where they called for shipping to contract from 2020 and eventually decline to zero by 2050. Similarly, all airports except Heathrow, Glasgow and Belfast close by 2030 and even they need to close by 2050 to meet their “Absolute Zero” targets (see Figure 2).
As we can see, the Net Zero zealots have forced the closure of our last remaining fertiliser plant and they also want to close the available routes to import ammonia. Not only that, but no shipping and no aviation will also impede our ability to import food.
The “experts” on the Climate Change Committee want to “release” 11% of our agricultural land by 2035 and up to a quarter by 2050. By “release” they mean turn over to tree-planting or energy crops. One has to ask, without fertiliser or imported food and much less agricultural land, how are we going to feed ourselves?
It is plain to see that we are heading towards economic disaster, social catastrophe and potentially famine. Who in Westminster is going to stand up and stop this madness before it is too late?
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As Henry Kissinger stated: " To control the Food Supply is to control the People, To control the Energy Supply is to control the Nation".
Prophetic words or The Plan Revealed?
Maybe we should have all the net zero advocates move to an island by themselves. They can try their net zero fantasies without harming the rest of us.
If their ideas are so good, why won’t they try it?