Nigeria's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Emissions on the Rise
Nigeria's agricultural sector has been a significant contributor to N₂O emissions over the decades. The Agricultural Transformation Agenda launched in 2010 aimed to boost productivity, inadvertently increasing N₂O emissions due to heightened fertilizer use. This sector has consistently shown the highest emissions, with notable increases in the 1980s and 1990s, reflecting the sector's expansion and intensification.
Energy Sector's Growing Impact
The energy sector in Nigeria has seen a steady rise in N₂O emissions, particularly from the mid-20th century onwards. The discovery of oil in 1956 and subsequent establishment of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in 1977 catalyzed increased fossil fuel extraction and combustion. These developments have contributed to the energy sector's growing share of emissions, underscoring the need for cleaner energy solutions.
Economic Events and Emission Trends
Significant economic events have influenced Nigeria's emission trends. The end of the Biafran War in 1970 and the return to civilian rule in 1999 spurred industrial growth, leading to increased energy consumption and emissions. Conversely, the 2016 economic recession and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic temporarily reduced emissions due to decreased industrial activity and transportation, highlighting the impact of economic fluctuations on emission levels.
Waste and Other Sources
While agriculture and energy dominate, waste and other sources also contribute to Nigeria's N₂O emissions. Waste management practices have gradually increased emissions, while other sources have shown a steady rise, reflecting broader industrial and urban development trends. These sectors, though smaller in scale, are integral to understanding the full scope of Nigeria's emission profile.
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.