Canada's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
2024 N2O Emissions Profile
Canada's anthropogenic N2O emissions totalled around 44.8 megatonnes CO2e in 2024. Agriculture dominated, producing around 35.2 megatonnes CO2e, or 78.6%, followed by energy at 4.0 megatonnes CO2e (8.8%) and other sources at 3.4 megatonnes CO2e (7.5%). Over the ten years to 2024, agriculture, industry, waste and other sources rose, while energy emissions declined.
Historic Agriculture Emissions
Agricultural emissions rose from around 2.1 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to 7.2 in 1936, then climbed more rapidly to roughly 24 in 1982. They continued upward overall thereafter, peaking at about 36.3 megatonnes CO2e in 2020, before ending at around 35.2 in 2024.
Historic Energy Emissions
Energy emissions began at roughly 0.16 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose gradually to around 1.9 in 1962. Growth continued to about 4.5 in 2007, with a peak of roughly 4.5 megatonnes CO2e in 2018. They fell to around 4.0 in 2024.
Historic Industry Emissions
Industry emissions were near zero in 1851 and remained small until the mid-twentieth century, reaching around 0.8 megatonnes CO2e in 1953. They then surged, peaking at roughly 16.5 in 1983, before a long decline brought emissions to around 1.1 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions started at around 0.03 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and increased slowly to about 0.13 in 1940. They rose further through the later twentieth century, then continued increasing from around 0.5 in 1986 to a peak of roughly 1.2 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions rose from around 1.1 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to roughly 3.8 in 1995, peaking at about 3.9 in 1998. They then declined to around 2.0 in 2022 before rebounding sharply, ending at roughly 3.4 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