Mitigation cost of greenhouse gas emissions from fertilization in agriculture.

Summary In this thesis, we assess the mitigation cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) from fertilization which represents 38% and 44% of agricultural GHG emissions in Europe and in France. This assessment is conducted for two key measures in climate mitigation which are the implementation of legumes crops and the reduction of fertilization per hectare. The abatement potential of legume crops is computed by simulating their increase in French croplands and also by a switch of crop rotations on several years (up to 6 years) in five European regions. Results show that significant mitigation amounts can be obtained by increasing farms revenues. The role of risk aversion is studied through the reduction of fertilisation per hectare. We analytically shows the conditions leading to nitrogen over-applications on crops which allows farmers to minimize their risk of loss on crop yields. The simulations lead on risk averse farmers show that an insurance covering yield variability could be foreseen as an interesting tool to mitigate emissions.