Australia's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
2024 N2O Emissions Profile
Australia's N2O emissions totalled around 68 megatonnes CO2e in 2024. Agriculture dominated, at roughly 57 megatonnes CO2e or 83.9%, declining by about 0.63 megatonnes CO2e per year over the ten years to 2024. Energy contributed around 4.4 megatonnes CO2e (6.5%) and rose slightly, while industry, at about 3.8 megatonnes CO2e (5.6%), edged down. Waste accounted for roughly 1.0 megatonnes CO2e (1.5%) and increased, while other sources supplied around 1.7 megatonnes CO2e (2.6%) and declined.
Historic Agriculture Emissions
Agricultural emissions rose from around 8 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to roughly 22 in 1939, then climbed rapidly to about 78 by 1976. They fluctuated thereafter, falling to around 53 in 1981 before peaking at roughly 95 megatonnes CO2e in 2001. Emissions then declined unevenly, reaching around 57 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Energy Emissions
Energy emissions began at about 0.06 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose gradually to around 0.6 by 1949. Growth continued through the late twentieth century, reaching about 4.0 in 1997 and peaking at roughly 5.2 megatonnes CO2e in 1999. They then varied at lower levels before ending at around 4.4 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Industry Emissions
Industry emissions were near zero until the early twentieth century and reached around 0.01 megatonnes CO2e in 1932. They rose steadily to about 1.2 by 1993, then increased more strongly, peaking at roughly 4.0 megatonnes CO2e in 2020. Emissions ended at around 3.8 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions rose gradually from around 0.02 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to about 0.4 in 1991. Growth accelerated thereafter, reaching a peak of roughly 1.0 megatonnes CO2e in 2024, which was also the final-year level.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions increased from around 0.3 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to about 1.2 in 1972, then rose sharply to a peak of roughly 3.7 in 1986. They declined over the following decades and ended at around 1.7 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