Lesotho's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Emissions Dominate
Throughout the decades, Lesotho's N₂O emissions have been predominantly driven by agriculture. The data reveals that agricultural activities have consistently contributed the largest share of emissions, peaking in the mid-20th century. This trend aligns with historical events such as the expansion of livestock farming in the 1980s, which likely increased emissions due to enteric fermentation and manure management. However, the introduction of modern agricultural techniques in 2002, including the use of fertilizers, further amplified N₂O emissions, reflecting a shift towards more intensive farming practices.
Energy and Industry: Gradual Growth
While agriculture remains the primary source, emissions from energy and industry have shown a gradual increase over the years. The energy sector, in particular, saw a steady rise in emissions, likely due to increased energy consumption and infrastructure development, such as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in the late 1990s. Industrial emissions, although starting from a low base, have also grown, reflecting the country's slow but steady industrialization.
Recent Trends and Future Outlook
In recent years, Lesotho has experienced fluctuations in emissions, with notable decreases in agricultural emissions around 2020, possibly linked to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on agricultural practices. The country's investment in renewable energy initiatives since 2010 suggests a commitment to reducing reliance on fossil fuels, which could lead to a more sustainable emissions profile in the future. However, the path forward will depend on balancing economic development with environmental sustainability.
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.