The nexus of geopolitics, decarbonization, and food security gives rise to distinct challenges across fertilizer supply chains

Fertilizers are essential for agricultural production and vital to global food security. Nevertheless, the production and use of fertilizers, primarily the nitrogen type, contribute substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, fertilizer markets are closely intertwined with a changing geopolitical landscape and disruptions induced by the war in Ukraine. Despite a growing number of studies that have explored these various dimensions of fertilizers, the intricate interdependencies across these different variables along global fertilizer supply chains remain insufficiently examined. Adopting a nexus perspective, this review unravels a reshaping of the global fertilizer landscape led by intertwined driving forces, namely the mounting quest for a more secure supply of fertilizers, efforts to decarbonize production with local renewable energy feedstocks, and the pursuit of industrial upgrading and geopolitical goals. The intertwined nature of these trends, this review argues, warrants a distinct agenda of nexus-based research to dissolve socio-political and environmental conundrums for more sustainable global fertilizer supply chains.