Paraguay's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Expansion Drives Emissions
Paraguay's N₂O emissions have been predominantly driven by agriculture, which has consistently been the largest contributor over the decades. The transition to democracy in 1989 and the formation of Mercosur in 1991 spurred agricultural growth, leading to increased emissions from fertilizer use. The soybean production boom in the early 2000s further accelerated this trend, with significant deforestation and land-use changes contributing to rising emissions. By 2020, agriculture accounted for over 90% of Paraguay's N₂O emissions, highlighting its critical role in the country's emission profile.
Energy and Industry's Modest Impact
While agriculture dominates, emissions from energy and industry have shown modest increases. The construction of the Yacyretá Dam, starting in 1956, and the rise of hydroelectric power by 2013, shifted Paraguay's energy landscape. Although hydroelectric power reduced CO₂ emissions, the energy sector's N₂O emissions have gradually increased, reflecting broader industrial and economic development. However, these sectors remain minor contributors compared to agriculture.
Deforestation and Environmental Concerns
Deforestation for agricultural expansion has been a significant environmental concern, particularly in recent years. The high deforestation rates in 2019, driven by agricultural needs, have contributed substantially to Paraguay's greenhouse gas emissions. This trend underscores the environmental challenges Paraguay faces as it balances economic growth with sustainability. The interplay between deforestation and emissions highlights the need for sustainable land management practices to mitigate environmental impacts.
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.