Reduce Pollutant Emissions in Agriculture
Agriculture also plays a role in reducing the emission of harmful substances into the air. A national air pollution control program helps to reduce negative impacts on human health and the environment through appropriate guidelines.
In recent decades, significant progress has been made in the European Union through a common air quality strategy in reducing anthropogenic emissions and improving air quality. However, there are still considerable negative impacts and risks for human health and the environment.
Reduction of national air pollutant emissions in the agricultural sector
The agricultural sector is particularly challenged in preventing ammonia emissions. Ammonia (NH₃) is considered a precursor to particulate matter and, at 94 percent (of a total of 77.11 kilotonnes in 2023), mainly originates from agricultural production (Austria's Informative Inventory Report (IIR) 2025, REP-0699, Environment Agency Austria, 2025).
Ammonia emissions from agriculture amounted to around 86.47 kt in 1990 and have since decreased by 20 percent. This decline can mainly be attributed to reduced livestock numbers, more efficient feeding, increased use of low-emission manure application techniques, and reduced use of mineral fertilizers.
In 2023, agriculture produced 69.51 kt of ammonia.
From 2022 to 2023, ammonia emissions decreased by 2.5 percent.
To counter negative developments in air pollution, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a revised directive on the reduction of national emissions of certain air pollutants (EU) 2016/2284 - the so-called “NEC Directive” - on December 14, 2016. Annex II of the directive sets national emission reduction commitments. To meet these pollutant-specific targets, which apply from 2020 and 2030 respectively, Austria most recently prepared a National Air Pollution Control Programme in 2023, outlining planned measures and expected reductions up to 2030.
In addition to this program and various voluntary measures, two mandatory measures to limit ammonia emissions in agriculture are included in Annex III, Part 2 of the NEC Directive:
- Ban on the use of fertilizers containing ammonium carbonate (implemented nationally through the Air Emissions Act 2018).
- Development of a national code of good agricultural practice to reduce ammonia emissions, taking into account the UNECE Code of Good Agricultural Practice from 2014.
Together with representatives of the Chambers of Agriculture, the offices of the provincial governments, livestock associations, the Austrian Board of Agricultural Engineering and Rural Development, as well as experts from research and development at the Agricultural Research Center Raumberg-Gumpenstein and the Agency for Health and Food Safety, the responsible ministry developed a national guide for good agricultural practice to reduce ammonia emissions in a multi-month participation and coordination process. This guide has been published here under “Downloads.”
The NEC guide is thus available to agricultural advisory services and farmers themselves as information to improve environmental performance.
To further promote the reduction of ammonia emissions, the corresponding funding opportunities under the CAP Strategic Plan have been expanded and made more attractive. Investment support for agricultural operations promotes low-emission manure application techniques, manure separators, and the retrofitting of manure storage covers. In addition, measures to reduce ammonia emissions have been integrated into standards for livestock farming as well as for particularly animal-friendly housing systems.
The ÖPUL program includes several measures with ammonia-reducing effects: above all, low-emission application of liquid manure and manure separation, as well as grazing and animal welfare housing systems. Since, in addition to voluntary measures, mandatory measures are also required to achieve the NEC targets, the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, in agreement with the former Ministry of Agriculture, enacted the “Ammonia Reduction Ordinance.” It came into force on January 1, 2023, and regulates rapid soil incorporation, urea application, covering of liquid manure storage, and documentation requirements. Two amendments to the ordinance have also been issued to date (most recently Federal Law Gazette Part II No. 172/2024).