China, Macao's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
2024 N2O Emissions Profile
In 2024, China, Macao Special Administrative Region's N2O emissions totalled around 0.061 megatonnes CO2e. Energy and Other were jointly the largest sources, each at around 0.023 megatonnes CO2e and 38.1% of national emissions, while Waste contributed around 0.012 megatonnes CO2e, or 19.1%. Over the ten years to 2024, Energy rose by around 0.0004 megatonnes CO2e per year; Waste and Other were broadly stable.
Historic Energy Emissions
Energy emissions were near zero until the mid-1950s, then rose to around 0.004 megatonnes CO2e by the mid-1980s. Growth accelerated to roughly 0.017 by the early 1990s, before emissions dipped to around 0.010 in 2001. They subsequently increased, reaching their peak of around 0.023 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions remained near zero until the early 1990s. They then increased from negligible levels in 1993 to around 0.012 megatonnes CO2e by 2024. Emissions peaked at roughly 0.012 megatonnes CO2e in 2018 and remained close to that level, ending at around 0.012 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions were negligible until the late 1960s, then rose from around 0.001 megatonnes CO2e to roughly 0.021 by the late 1990s. They peaked at around 0.025 megatonnes CO2e in 2004, fell to roughly 0.015 in 2013, and recovered thereafter to around 0.023 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