Publication - ‘Towards net-zero phosphorus cities’
Typical phosphorus flows in cities currently depicted in (a), in contrast to a net-zero phosphorus city depicted in (b), and the key transformational pathways to transition to more sustainable urban centres between the two panels
Overview: Cities are central to improving natural resource management globally. Instead of reinventing the wheel for each interlinked sustainability priority, we suggest synergising with, and learning from existing net-zero carbon initiatives to explicitly tackle another vital element: phosphorus. To achieve net-zero phosphorus actors must work together to (1) minimise loss flows out of the city, (2) maximise recycling flows from the city to agricultural lands, and (3) minimise the need for phosphorus in food production.
The article describes the global phosphorous challenge, the role of cities in phosphorus cycling and how to strive for phosphorous sustainability.
You can access the full paper here:
Metson, G.S., Brownlie, W.J. & Spears, B.M. Towards net-zero phosphorus cities. npj Urban Sustain 2, 30 (2022). https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-022-00076-8#citeas