Fungicides: Emissions

Why fungicides carry less carbon than herbicides

What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint per tonne, split by lifecycle phase (feedstock, production, movement, use, end of life), the global total, other environmental impacts, levers and low-carbon routes, India's position, and where the investment opportunity lies. Emission intensity 15.9 kg CO2e per kg a.i. range lower for sulphur and copper, higher for multistep fluorinated SDHIs (indicative) · 14.99 kg fossil CO2, 0.029 kg CH4 and 0.00028 kg N2O per kg a.i., converted with AR5 GWPs Global emissions per year 14.0 Mt CO2e per year 2022 · about 0.9 Mt a.i. x 15.9 kg CO2e/kg (indicative; overstates sulphur and copper products)

Per kg of fungicide active ingredient, cradle-to-gate. Intensity: Field to Market impact factors, based on Audsley et al. (2009) and Green (1987). Global total: derived (indicative).

Share of footprint by lifecycle phase

Feedstock 41% Production / process 53% Movement 6%

Footprint by lifecycle phase

Phase	Intensity	Share	Main sources of emissions	Notes	Source
Feedstock	about 6.5 kg CO2e per kg a.i. (indicative)	41%	metal salts (manganese, zinc, copper refining), CS2, chlorinated and fluorinated intermediates		indicative split
Production / process	about 8.5 kg CO2e per kg a.i. (indicative)	53%	drying and milling of mancozeb, batch synthesis of single-site products, solvent recovery, coal steam		indicative split
Movement	about 1 kg CO2e per kg a.i. (indicative)	6%	container shipping and distribution		indicative
Use	outside cradle-to-gate	–	tractor or sprayer fuel, many passes in wet seasons	protecting yield avoids emissions from extra land; the net effect is crop-specific	indicative
End of life	small	–	degradation; copper stays in soil	some fluorinated fungicides degrade to trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in water (indicative)	indicative

Other environmental impacts

Copper build-up in vineyard and orchard soils, ETU from mancozeb, endocrine effects of some triazoles, TFA from fluorinated actives, and resistance.

Levers to cut emissions

Disease forecasting and variable-rate spraying
Resistant crop varieties
Biofungicides (Bacillus, Trichoderma)
Cleaner energy for drying and synthesis

India

India's mancozeb and copper makers run batch plants on coal steam and grid power; UPL publishes group emission targets in its sustainability reporting (indicative).

Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.

Low-carbon routes

Route	Intensity	Cost premium	Status	Source
Biological fungicides and plant defence inducers	not published	moderate	commercial in fruit and vegetables; small share of fungicide value (indicative)	indicative
Disease-resistant varieties (e.g. rust-tolerant soybean, late-blight-resistant potato)	removes sprays	seed premium	commercial in some markets; gene-edited lines in trials (indicative)	indicative

For a climate investor Fungicides are needed for food security, so the opportunity is in using less: forecasting, precision application, resistant varieties and biologicals. In India, mancozeb makers face long-term regulatory risk outside the EU too. What has to be true: biologicals that work reliably in wet, high-pressure seasons.