North Macedonia's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
2024 N2O Emissions Profile
North Macedonia's N2O emissions totalled around 0.46 megatonnes CO2e in 2024. Agriculture was by far the largest source, at around 0.28 megatonnes CO2e or 62.1%, declining by about 0.018 megatonnes CO2e per year (4.7% annually) over the ten years to 2024. Waste contributed 18.9% and energy 11.9%, both rising by roughly 0.001 megatonnes CO2e per year. Other sources accounted for 5.7% and declined slightly.
Historic Agriculture Emissions
Agricultural emissions began at around 0.03 megatonnes CO2e in the mid-19th century and remained low into the early 1900s, despite reaching roughly 0.06 in 1890. They then grew strongly from around 0.15 in 1939 to over 0.8 by 1980, peaking at roughly 0.91 megatonnes CO2e in 1984. Emissions subsequently declined to around 0.28 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Energy Emissions
Energy emissions were near zero in the mid-19th century and rose gradually through the following century, reaching around 0.03 megatonnes CO2e by 1982. They then increased to a peak of roughly 0.08 megatonnes CO2e in 1995. Emissions fell to around 0.04 in 2002 before partly recovering, ending at around 0.05 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions started at around 0.004 megatonnes CO2e in the mid-19th century and rose steadily for more than a century, reaching around 0.07 by the early 1980s. Growth continued more gradually thereafter. Waste emissions reached their highest level, around 0.09 megatonnes CO2e, in 2024.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions began at around 0.008 megatonnes CO2e in the mid-19th century and increased gradually to around 0.02 by the late 1960s. They then rose more quickly, reaching roughly 0.04 by the early 1990s and peaking at around 0.05 in 1996. Emissions later declined, ending at around 0.03 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
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
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via DonorboxAbout the Data
National N2O emissions data through 2024 is from the PRIMAP-hist dataset, which combines several published sources into a historical emissions time series.
The Key Insights paragraph was created using a large language model (LLM) in combination with our data, historic events, and a structured approach for best accuracy by separating the context generation from the interpretation and narrative.
Data Sources
PRIMAP-hist The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series (1750-2024)
Update cycle: Every few monthsDelay: Less than 1 yearCredits: Gütschow, J.; Busch, D.; Pflüger, M. (2025): The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series v2.7 (1750-2024). zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17090760