🇯🇴 Jordan's Sources of N₂O Emissions

Jordan's Sources of N2O Emissions

Key Insights

2024 N2O Emissions Profile

In 2024, Jordan's anthropogenic N2O emissions totalled about 1.47 megatonnes CO2e. Industry was the largest source, at around 0.61 megatonnes CO2e (41.7%), followed closely by agriculture at about 0.55 megatonnes CO2e (37.4%). Over the ten years to 2024, industry rose by about 0.005 megatonnes CO2e a year, while agriculture fell by around 0.007. Energy, waste and other sources each contributed about 0.10-0.11 megatonnes CO2e, or roughly 7%, and all declined.

Historic Agriculture Emissions

Agricultural emissions began at about 0.014 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose gradually through the twentieth century, reaching around 0.24 megatonnes CO2e by 1979. They increased further to a peak of roughly 0.63 megatonnes CO2e in 2015, before declining to around 0.55 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.

Historic Energy Emissions

Energy emissions were about 0.001 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and remained small until the mid-1960s, when they reached around 0.012 megatonnes CO2e. They then grew overall, peaking at roughly 0.13 megatonnes CO2e in 2017, before easing to about 0.11 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.

Historic Industry Emissions

Industrial emissions started at around 0.007 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose steadily, reaching about 0.31 megatonnes CO2e by 1996. They dipped to roughly 0.21 megatonnes CO2e in 2000, then recovered and climbed to their record high of around 0.61 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.

Historic Waste Emissions

Waste emissions began near 0.001 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and increased gradually through 1980, reaching around 0.026 megatonnes CO2e. Growth continued thereafter, with emissions peaking at roughly 0.12 megatonnes CO2e in 2017, then declining to about 0.10 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.

Historic Other Emissions

Other emissions were around 0.003 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and remained low until the late 1960s. They rose to about 0.078 megatonnes CO2e by 1995, dipped to roughly 0.071 megatonnes CO2e in 2008, and peaked at around 0.16 megatonnes CO2e in 2014 before falling to about 0.10 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 oxide
IPCC: 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: Megatonne
Wikipedia: Global warming potential

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About the Data

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

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