Iran's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agriculture Dominates, Then Levels Off
Iran's nitrous oxide emissions expanded through the 20th century, with agriculture leading the rise. Growth was especially strong from the early 1970s to the early 2000s, after which agricultural emissions broadly plateaued. Since the mid‑2000s they have varied around the mid‑to‑high teens in megatonnes, indicating a high but relatively steady level. Agriculture accounts for about two‑thirds of national N2O and, cumulatively, has contributed well over 900 megatonnes.
Energy’s Later Surge
Energy-related emissions were minimal until the late 1960s, rose steadily through the late 20th century, and then accelerated since the early 2000s. They now sit around the mid‑single digits in megatonnes and remain on an upward path, adding to the overall warming impact despite agriculture's stabilization.
Industry Grows, Other Stabilizes
Industry has shown moderate but persistent growth since the late 1960s, climbing to a few megatonnes and representing just over a tenth of national N2O. The "other" category increased from the early 1970s and has largely leveled off since the mid‑2010s at just over 2 megatonnes. Waste is smaller and has risen gradually.
Actionable Outlook
Today, agriculture is high but relatively stable, while energy is still rising and industry inches upward; other appears close to stable. Bending the trajectory will require reversing the increase in energy and tempering industry growth, while sustaining and deepening the stabilization already visible in agriculture.
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 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 (1750-2023)
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.