How does the Commission's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) guide work out the emissions of a nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) 15-15-15 fertiliser?

The guide gets 0.489 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of NPK 15-15-15: 0.211 from ammonia, 0.247 from urea, 0.018 direct and 0.0126 indirect from granulation. Potash, superphosphate and the acids add nothing. That is 0.00326 per kilogram of nitrogen, so 100 tonnes imported carries 48.9 tonnes.

What the label means

NPK 15-15-15 is a fertiliser sold by three numbers: nitrogen (N), phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) and potassium oxide (K2O), 15% of each. Think of a trail mix with three equal scoops. Those are the labels used on fertiliser bags, not the weight of pure phosphorus or potassium. Fifteen per cent nitrogen means 150 kilograms of nitrogen in every tonne. CBAM is the European Union's (EU) charge on the carbon built into imported goods. For fertiliser goods with a nitrogen functional unit, as here, it is counted per kilogram of nitrogen.

The inputs in the guide's example

• Ammonia (anhydrous, Combined Nomenclature code 2814 10 00): 93.0 kilograms per tonne of product.
• Urea (code 3102 10 19, over 45% nitrogen): 160.0 kilograms per tonne.
• Potassium chloride 251.3, single super phosphate (17% P2O5) 200.0, phosphoric acid (40% P2O5) 300.0 and sulphuric acid (96%) 116.0 kilograms per tonne.
• The guide says the last four have no embedded emissions and do not need to be taken into account. Only ammonia and urea, the precursors, carry a figure. If you add the inputs up you get 1,120.3 kilograms per tonne (93 + 160 + 251.3 + 200 + 300 + 116), as the guide prints them; that is how the guide prints them. The sum of the inputs is not used in the emissions sum below.

The sum, line by line

1. Ammonia: 0.093 x 2.273 = 0.211 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per tonne of product.
2. Urea: 0.160 x 1.545 = 0.247.
3. Granulation and drying, direct emissions (the guide assumes a natural gas dryer): 0.018.
4. Granulation, indirect emissions from electricity: 0.0126.
5. Total: 0.211 + 0.247 + 0.018 + 0.0126 = 0.489, printed in the guide as 0.489.

From per kilogram of nitrogen to per tonne

The guide first works out the figure per kilogram of nitrogen, which is the functional unit for fertiliser, then converts it to a figure per tonne of product with Equation 65: emissions per tonne equal the figure per kilogram of nitrogen times the kilograms of nitrogen in a tonne. For this grade that is 0.489 / 150 = 0.00326 per kilogram, and 0.00326 x 150 = 0.489 per tonne. So the two ways of saying it are the same number. Our page on the unit, linked below, explains the same two ways of stating it.

What the example assumes

• The plant is in Türkiye and uses the grid factor from Annex II to the Default Values Act.
• Ammonia and urea come from Azerbaijan, and the production year for both the precursors and the plant is 2026.
• The 2.273 and 1.545 are default values with mark-up from Annex I to the Default Values Act, as printed in the guide. They include indirect emissions for ammonia and urea. The default values were corrected in July 2026 (Regulation (EU) 2026/1740). The guide does not say whether these two values were affected, so check the current Annex I values for your own goods.

Importing 100 tonnes (the guide's own closing step)

• Total embedded emissions: 100 tonnes x 0.489 tonnes of CO2 per tonne = 48.9 tonnes of CO2
• Check per kilogram of nitrogen: 100 tonnes x 150 kilograms = 15,000 kilograms; 48.9 / 15,000 = 0.00326 tonnes per kilogram

All figures are the guide's printed values for its worked example. They are not a figure for your plant.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records. Reading your recipe or your ammonia and urea supplier reports is custom, on request. Senseible builds the verifier-ready file and checks every figure in-house; an accredited verifier Senseible partners with signs it off, or the client sends it to their own.

• Build your fertiliser CBAM file
• Fertiliser figure per tonne or per nitrogen
• Nitrogen content ranges for mixed fertilisers
• Verifier checks at a fertiliser plant
• Default values corrected in July 2026

Sources: European Commission, CBAM Guidance No. 5c, fertilisers (14 August 2026)

Last reviewed 2026-11-07. The default values were corrected in July 2026 (Regulation (EU) 2026/1740). The guide does not say whether the 2.273 and 1.545 values were affected, so look up the current Annex I values for your own goods. The guide says it is not legally binding.