Belize's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Expansion Drives Emissions
Belize's N2O emissions have been significantly influenced by agricultural activities, particularly since the mid-20th century. The introduction of the sugar cane industry in 1954 marked a pivotal moment, leading to increased land-use changes and agricultural expansion. This trend continued with the expansion of the citrus industry in 2000, further elevating N2O emissions due to the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers. The data shows a consistent rise in emissions from agriculture, peaking in the 2010s, reflecting the sector's growing contribution to the country's overall emissions profile.
Energy Sector's Modest Impact
While agriculture remains the dominant source of N2O emissions, the energy sector has played a smaller role. The founding of Belize Electricity Limited in 1973 and subsequent energy developments contributed to emissions, but their impact has been relatively modest compared to agriculture. The introduction of the Belize National Energy Policy in 2010 and the establishment of the first solar farm in 2015 marked efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, aligning with global trends towards cleaner energy sources.
Conservation and Policy Measures
Belize's commitment to environmental conservation and sustainable development is evident in its policy measures. The designation of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 and the ban on offshore oil exploration in 2018 highlight efforts to protect natural carbon sinks and prevent potential emissions. These initiatives, alongside the country's participation in the UNFCCC, underscore Belize's proactive approach to managing its carbon footprint and mitigating climate change impacts.
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.