Latvia's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Dominance in Emissions
Throughout Latvia's history, agriculture has been the predominant source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. From the mid-19th century, emissions from agriculture steadily increased, peaking in the late 20th century. This trend reflects the intensification of agricultural practices, including the use of fertilizers, which significantly contribute to N2O emissions. The Soviet occupation in 1940 further accelerated this trend with the introduction of mechanized agriculture and large-scale farming.
Economic Shifts and Energy Emissions
The energy sector's contribution to N2O emissions saw a notable rise during the 20th century, particularly during the Soviet era, when industrialization and urbanization increased energy demand. However, the restoration of independence in 1991 marked a turning point, as economic restructuring led to a temporary decline in emissions. The subsequent modernization of industries and infrastructure, especially after Latvia's accession to the EU in 2004, helped stabilize energy-related emissions.
Recent Trends and Environmental Policies
In recent decades, Latvia has made strides in reducing emissions through policy changes and investments in renewable energy. The expansion of renewable energy sources, particularly after 2014, has contributed to a gradual decline in overall emissions. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also temporarily reduced emissions due to decreased economic activity. These efforts align with Latvia's commitments to international climate agreements, showcasing a shift towards more sustainable practices.
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.