Bangladesh's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
2024 N2O Emissions Profile
Bangladesh's anthropogenic N2O emissions totalled around 32.0 megatonnes CO2e in 2024. Agriculture dominated, at about 26.7 megatonnes CO2e or 83.5%, rising by roughly 0.45 megatonnes CO2e per year over the ten years to 2024. Energy contributed 2.3 megatonnes CO2e (7.1%) and edged down slightly. Waste contributed 1.9 megatonnes CO2e (6.1%) and other sources 1.0 megatonne CO2e (3.3%), both rising. Industry remained negligible at about 0.01 megatonnes CO2e.
Historic Agriculture Emissions
Agricultural emissions rose from around 2.2 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to roughly 4.4 in the early 1890s, then increased gradually through the mid-twentieth century. Growth accelerated after the early 1960s, despite a peak near 9.9 in 1979 and a subsequent dip. Emissions then climbed strongly to a 2024 peak of about 26.7 megatonnes CO2e.
Historic Energy Emissions
Energy emissions began at about 0.04 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose gradually to around 0.4 by 1949. They increased further, reaching roughly 1.2 in the mid-1990s, before growing more quickly. Emissions peaked at approximately 2.4 megatonnes CO2e in 2018, then eased to around 2.3 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Industry Emissions
Industry emissions were effectively zero through the early twentieth century and remained very small thereafter. They rose from around 0.002 megatonnes CO2e in the early 1960s to roughly 0.005 by the late 1960s, then increased slowly. Emissions reached their record high of about 0.01 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions started at around 0.04 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose steadily, reaching roughly 0.4 by the early 1960s and around 0.8 by 1992. After a slight dip in 1993, growth resumed and accelerated. Waste emissions peaked at approximately 1.9 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions began near 0.08 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and increased only slowly through the late 1960s. Growth strengthened after that, rising from around 0.4 megatonnes CO2e in 2001 to roughly 0.5 in 2010. They then climbed faster, reaching a peak of about 1.0 megatonne 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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via DonorboxAbout the Data
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