Belarus' Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Dominance in N₂O Emissions
Throughout the decades, Belarus's N₂O emissions have been predominantly driven by agriculture. This sector consistently contributed the largest share of emissions, peaking in the mid-20th century. The data shows a significant increase in agricultural emissions during the 1960s and 1970s, likely due to intensified farming practices. However, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked a turning point, leading to a decrease in emissions as economic restructuring took place.
Industrial and Energy Shifts
The industrial sector saw a notable rise in N₂O emissions during the mid-20th century, with a peak in the 1980s. This increase aligns with the Soviet era's industrial expansion. However, post-1990, emissions from industry sharply declined, reflecting the economic changes following the Soviet Union's collapse. Similarly, energy-related emissions rose steadily until the 1990s, after which they decreased, possibly due to the transition to more efficient energy sources and the impact of the Belarus-Russia energy dispute in 2006.
Recent Trends and Future Outlook
In recent years, Belarus has made strides in reducing its reliance on fossil fuels, as evidenced by the construction of a nuclear power plant in 2010. This shift is expected to further decrease N₂O emissions from energy. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 temporarily reduced industrial activity, contributing to a short-term decline in emissions. As Belarus continues to commit to international climate agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, the country is likely to see a continued reduction in its overall emissions profile.
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.