Gabon's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Emissions Rise Steadily
Gabon has seen a consistent increase in N2O emissions from agriculture over the decades. Starting from the mid-20th century, emissions from this sector have grown significantly, reflecting the expansion of agricultural activities. This trend aligns with Gabon's post-independence economic policies, which likely encouraged agricultural development. The increase in emissions from agriculture is notable, especially in recent decades, as it remains a significant contributor to the country's overall N2O emissions.
Energy Sector's Growing Impact
The energy sector in Gabon has also contributed to rising N2O emissions, particularly since the 1970s when oil production expanded. This period marked a shift in Gabon's economic landscape, with fossil fuel combustion becoming a major source of emissions. The energy sector's share of total N2O emissions has increased, reflecting the country's reliance on oil production. However, fluctuations in global oil prices in the early 2000s led to a decline in oil revenues, which may have moderated emissions growth from this sector.
Conservation Efforts and Emission Reductions
Gabon has made significant strides in conservation, particularly with the establishment of national parks in the 1990s and early 2000s. These efforts have likely helped mitigate N2O emissions by preserving forest cover and enhancing carbon sinks. The creation of 13 national parks in 2002 and sustainable forestry initiatives in 2010 underscore Gabon's commitment to environmental conservation. These actions have contributed to a reduction in emissions from deforestation and land-use change, highlighting the positive impact of conservation policies on the country's emission profile.
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.