Lithuania's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Dominance and Shifts
Lithuania's N₂O emissions have historically been dominated by agriculture, particularly from the mid-19th century onwards. The emancipation of serfs in 1861 and subsequent land reforms in 1918 led to increased agricultural activity, contributing to rising emissions. By the mid-20th century, agriculture accounted for a significant portion of the country's N₂O emissions. However, the trend began to shift in the late 20th century, with emissions from agriculture decreasing slightly, reflecting changes in agricultural practices post-independence in 1990.
Industrial and Energy Contributions
The Soviet occupation in 1940 marked the beginning of industrialization in Lithuania, which significantly impacted N₂O emissions. The expansion of the chemical industry in the 1970s further increased industrial emissions. Post-independence economic restructuring in 1990 led to a temporary decline in industrial emissions, but the sector remains a notable contributor. Energy-related emissions have also fluctuated, with the closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Plant in 2009 leading to increased reliance on fossil fuels, thereby raising emissions.
Recent Trends and EU Influence
Lithuania's accession to the EU in 2004 brought about stricter environmental regulations, promoting cleaner energy sources and improved efficiency. This has contributed to a gradual reduction in overall emissions. The launch of the Klaipėda LNG terminal in 2014 further diversified energy sources, aiding in emission reductions. Despite these efforts, recent data indicates fluctuations, particularly in industrial emissions, underscoring the ongoing challenges in balancing economic growth 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.