Libya's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Oil Discovery and Emission Surge
The discovery of significant oil reserves in Libya in 1959 marked a pivotal moment in the country's economic and environmental history. This event catalyzed a surge in oil extraction and exportation, leading to a substantial increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The oil industry became a cornerstone of Libya's economy, contributing to a marked rise in emissions as fossil fuel consumption soared. This trend continued with Gaddafi's rise to power in 1969, which further intensified oil production and exportation, embedding oil as a primary economic driver and exacerbating emissions.
Civil Wars and Emission Fluctuations
The Libyan Civil War in 2011 and the subsequent Second Libyan Civil War in 2014 caused significant disruptions to the country's oil production. These conflicts led to temporary decreases in emissions due to the shutdown of oil facilities and damage to infrastructure. The reduction in oil production during these periods resulted in a notable decrease in emissions, highlighting the direct impact of political instability on environmental outcomes. However, these decreases were temporary, as emissions trends resumed once oil activities were restored.
Agricultural Emissions and Recent Trends
Agricultural activities have consistently been a significant source of N2O emissions in Libya. Over the decades, emissions from agriculture have shown a steady increase, reflecting the sector's expansion. Despite fluctuations in other sectors, agriculture remains a dominant contributor to Libya's overall emissions profile. Recent data indicates a slight decline in agricultural emissions, suggesting potential shifts in practices or external influences affecting this sector. Nonetheless, agriculture continues to play a crucial role in Libya's emissions landscape.
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.