Argentina's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Dominance in Emissions
Throughout Argentina's history, agriculture has been the primary contributor to N2O emissions. The sector's emissions have consistently increased, particularly from the mid-20th century onwards, reflecting the country's agricultural expansion. This trend aligns with historical events such as the agricultural boom in the early 20th century, which likely intensified emissions due to increased livestock farming and land-use changes. By the 2020s, agriculture accounted for over 90% of Argentina's N2O emissions, underscoring its significant role in the country's greenhouse gas profile.
Energy Sector's Growing Influence
While agriculture remains dominant, the energy sector has shown a notable increase in N2O emissions over the decades. The discovery of oil in 1914 and subsequent developments in the energy sector, including the nationalization of the oil industry in 1947, contributed to this rise. The energy sector's share of emissions has grown, particularly since the late 20th century, reflecting Argentina's industrialization and increased energy consumption. Despite a slight decrease in the 2020s, the sector remains a key area for potential emission reductions.
Impact of Economic and Policy Changes
Economic and policy shifts have also influenced Argentina's N2O emissions. The economic crisis of 2001 led to a temporary reduction in emissions due to decreased industrial activity. Conversely, the implementation of the Convertibility Plan in 1991 and the signing of international agreements like the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement have shaped national policies towards emission reductions. The expansion of renewable energy projects in recent years represents a positive step towards a more sustainable energy mix, potentially mitigating future emissions.
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
About the Data
The last available year in all the emission datasets is 2023. N2O emissions come from the PRIMAP-Hist dataset. It is a rich dataset that combines several published sources to create a historical emissions time series for various greenhouse gases.
The Key Insights paragraph was generated using a large language model (LLM) using a structured approach to improve the accuracy. This included separating the context generation from the interpretation and narrative.
Data Sources
PRIMAP-hist The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series (1750-2023)
Update cycle: Every few monthsDelay: Less than 1 yearCredits: Gütschow, Johannes; Busch, Daniel; Pflüger, Mika (2024): The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series (1750-2023) v2.6. Zenodo.