Malaysia's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Emissions Dominate
Throughout the decades, Malaysia's N2O emissions have been predominantly driven by agriculture. The expansion of rubber plantations in the early 20th century marked the beginning of significant agricultural emissions. By the late 20th century, agriculture accounted for a substantial portion of the country's N2O emissions, reflecting the sector's growth and its environmental impact. Despite fluctuations, agriculture remains a key contributor to Malaysia's emissions profile.
Energy Sector's Rising Influence
The discovery of oil and gas fields in the 1970s initiated a shift in Malaysia's energy landscape, leading to increased emissions from fossil fuel extraction and combustion. This trend continued with rapid industrialization in the 1980s, further elevating emissions from the energy sector. By the 21st century, energy-related N2O emissions had grown significantly, reflecting the sector's expanding role in Malaysia's economy and its environmental footprint.
Policy Shifts and Emission Reductions
In recent years, Malaysia has taken steps to address its emissions through policy initiatives. The launch of the National Renewable Energy Policy in 2009 aimed to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, while the 2019 ban on open burning sought to curb emissions from land-clearing fires. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also temporarily reduced emissions due to decreased industrial activity. These efforts highlight Malaysia's ongoing journey towards sustainable energy practices and emission reductions.
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.