Brazil's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
2024 N2O Emissions Profile
In 2024, Brazil's anthropogenic N2O emissions totalled around 204 megatonnes CO2e and were dominated by agriculture. Agriculture emitted about 183 megatonnes CO2e (89.8%), rising by roughly 4.4 megatonnes CO2e per year (2.75%) over the ten years to 2024. Energy emitted 10.2 megatonnes CO2e (5.0%) and waste 3.7 (1.8%), both rising; industry, at 1.5 (0.8%), and other sources, at 5.4 (2.7%), declined slightly.
Historic Agriculture Emissions
Agriculture rose from about 0.5 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to nearly 8 in 1941, then accelerated to just over 100 in 1999. It continued upward, peaking at around 183 megatonnes CO2e in 2024, the final value.
Historic Energy Emissions
Energy emissions began around 0.06 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and remained below 1 through the late 1940s. They then rose steadily, reaching their peak and final value of roughly 10.2 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Industry Emissions
Industry emissions were near zero until around 1950, then climbed sharply to a peak of about 7.2 megatonnes CO2e in 1975. They fell to roughly 1.4 in 1990, partly recovered, and ended at around 1.5 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions rose from around 0.07 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to roughly 0.3 in 1942, then increased faster to about 3.4 in 2014. Growth slowed thereafter, ending at a peak of around 3.7 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions rose from around 0.7 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to nearly 2 in 1970, then grew faster through the 1980s. They later varied, dipping to about 3.7 in 1997, peaking near 7.1 in 2010, and ending around 5.4 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