Afghanistan's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
2024 N2O Emissions Profile
In 2024, Afghanistan's anthropogenic N2O emissions totalled around 4.3 megatonnes CO2e. Agriculture dominated, at roughly 3.8 megatonnes CO2e or 86.6%, and declined by about 0.07 megatonnes CO2e per year over the ten years to 2024. Waste contributed around 0.4 megatonnes CO2e (9.4%) and rose by about 0.007 per year. Energy and Other were small, at about 0.09 and 0.08 megatonnes CO2e, respectively, and both increased slightly.
Historic Agriculture Emissions
Agricultural emissions rose from around 0.2 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to roughly 3.3 in 1968. They then declined overall to about 2.6 in 1991, despite peaking at around 3.4 in 1976. Emissions subsequently increased and fluctuated, reaching their overall peak of roughly 4.5 in 2017 before ending at about 3.8 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Energy Emissions
Energy emissions were near zero through the nineteenth century and remained very small until the mid-twentieth century. They rose gradually thereafter, with an earlier high of around 0.04 megatonnes CO2e in 1990, then increased after 2000. Emissions peaked at roughly 0.12 in 2011 before falling back to around 0.09 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions began at only around 0.004 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose gradually through the twentieth century, reaching about 0.15 by 1994. Growth accelerated thereafter, with emissions climbing steadily to their highest level of around 0.4 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions started at around 0.002 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and remained low through the mid-1960s. They rose and fluctuated thereafter, reaching about 0.03 in 1991 before dropping near 0.02 in 2000. Emissions then increased to a peak of roughly 0.10 in 2011 and ended at around 0.08 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Background
The chart shows a national breakdown by source of the yearly nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from human activities and processes, expressed as weight in megatonnes (Mt). Human-induced emissions are the main driver of the increasing atmospheric nitrous oxide that is warming our planet. The sources of human nitrous oxide emissions are
- Agriculture
- Energy
- Industry
- Waste
- Other
Agriculture
Emissions related to agriculture are mainly from the use of synthetic fertilizers and manure management.
Synthetic fertilizer, used for agricultural processes, contains a lot of nitrogen. That nitrogen in the soil reacts and causes considerable N2O emissions. The use of excess fertilizer, meaning more fertilizer than the plants can use to grow, causes even higher relative emissions. Applying the right amount of fertilizer at the right time can reduce N2O emissions. There are many technical solutions to reduce emissions while keeping, or even increasing, agricultural yields.
When manure is left on the field or otherwise managed in dry processes, it emits considerable amounts of nitrous oxide. Manure can be managed by wet processes, which reduces nitrous oxide emissions but increases methane emissions. Some technical solutions focus on modifying the animal feed to reduce the nitrogen in the manure, thereby reducing nitrous oxide emissions.
Energy, Industry, Waste, and Other
All non-agricultural categories together have much lower emissions than agricultural emissions alone.
N2O emissions related to energy are almost all from the combustion of fossil fuels. For example, the combustion of fossil fuels in power plants, cars, and airplanes not only causes CO2 emissions but also emits nitrous oxide (N2O). Any advances to reducing fossil fuel dependency will thus also reduce nitrous oxide emissions.
Most industry-related emissions are from the chemical industry for producing fertilizer, nylon, and similar products. Technologies are available to reduce emissions in these processes.
Nitrous oxide emissions from waste come from, for example, wastewater treatment and landfills.
Wikipedia: Nitrous oxideIPCC: AR6, 5.16 Anthropogenic nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions
Units and Measures
N2O emissions are expressed in the total weight in megatonnes per year. 1 Megatonne is equal to 1 million tonnes.
Wikipedia: MegatonneWikipedia: Global warming potential
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National N2O emissions data through 2024 is from the PRIMAP-hist dataset, which combines several published sources into a historical emissions time series.
The Key Insights paragraph was created using a large language model (LLM) in combination with our data, historic events, and a structured approach for best accuracy by separating the context generation from the interpretation and narrative.
Data Sources
PRIMAP-hist The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series (1750-2024)
Update cycle: Every few monthsDelay: Less than 1 yearCredits: Gütschow, J.; Busch, D.; Pflüger, M. (2025): The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series v2.7 (1750-2024). zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17090760