Kuwait's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
2024 N2O Emissions Profile
In 2024, Kuwait's anthropogenic N2O emissions totalled around 1.23 megatonnes CO2e. Other sources were largest at around 0.358 megatonnes CO2e (29.2%), narrowly ahead of agriculture at 0.347 (28.3%), energy at 0.251 (20.5%), industry at 0.186 (15.2%) and waste at 0.085 (6.9%). All sources increased over the ten years to 2024, led proportionally by waste and agriculture.
Historic Agriculture Emissions
Agricultural emissions began at around 0.001 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose gradually to about 0.034 by 1970. Growth continued through the following decades, reaching roughly 0.186 in 2006, before accelerating further. Agriculture reached its record high of around 0.347 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Energy Emissions
Energy emissions rose from around 0.008 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to roughly 0.117 by the mid-1960s. They then varied sharply, peaking near 0.2 in 1989 before falling to around 0.037 in 1991. Emissions subsequently recovered, reaching about 0.251 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Industry Emissions
Industry emissions were near zero until the early twentieth century, reaching around 0.006 megatonnes CO2e by 1958. They then rose steadily to roughly 0.093 in 2005 and continued upward thereafter. Industrial emissions reached their highest level, around 0.186 megatonnes CO2e, in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions started at around 0.001 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and remained very low for more than a century. They increased to about 0.006 by the mid-1960s and roughly 0.037 in 2001. Growth continued through 2024, when waste emissions peaked at around 0.085 megatonnes CO2e.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions began at around 0.012 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose gradually until the late 1960s, then climbed rapidly to roughly 0.193 by 1984. They peaked at around 0.358 in 2008, dipped to about 0.135 in 1991, and recovered to around 0.358 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