China's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
2024 N2O Emissions Profile
China's N2O emissions totalled around 475 megatonnes CO2e in 2024. Agriculture was largest at roughly 289 megatonnes CO2e, or 60.9% of national emissions, declining by about 4.7 megatonnes CO2e per year over the ten years to 2024. Energy accounted for 115 megatonnes CO2e (24.3%) and rose by 4.5 per year; industry, 12.1 (2.5%), rose by 0.6; waste, 28.7 (6.0%), rose by 0.4; and other sources, 29.8 (6.3%), edged down.
Historic Agriculture Emissions
Agricultural emissions rose from roughly 2.4 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to around 89 by 1968, then accelerated to just over 300 by 2007. They peaked at roughly 328 megatonnes CO2e in 2015 before declining. Emissions ended at around 289 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Energy Emissions
Energy emissions were low in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, at around 0.1 megatonnes CO2e in 1851. They rose after the mid-1940s and accelerated after 2000, climbing from roughly 31 to 115 megatonnes CO2e. They reached their peak in 2024, at around 115 megatonnes CO2e.
Historic Industry Emissions
Industrial emissions began near zero in 1851 and rose to around 24 megatonnes CO2e by 2003. They then varied sharply, peaking at roughly 37 megatonnes CO2e in 2007 and falling to about 2.5 in 2010 before recovering. They ended at around 12 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions rose steadily from around 0.5 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to roughly 8.4 by 1977. Growth continued thereafter, bringing emissions to around 29 megatonnes CO2e in 2024, their peak across the period.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions increased gradually from roughly 2.9 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to around 19 by 2001, then rose more quickly. They peaked at roughly 37 megatonnes CO2e in 2011 and subsequently declined overall, ending at around 30 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