Qatar's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Early Developments and Industrial Growth
Qatar's journey in anthropogenic N2O emissions began modestly, with minimal emissions from agriculture and energy sectors in the early 20th century. The discovery of the Dukhan oil field in 1940 marked a pivotal moment, leading to increased energy-related emissions as oil extraction and combustion became central to the economy. The subsequent discovery of the North Field gas reserve in 1971 further accelerated emissions, as natural gas production and export activities expanded.
Industrial Expansion and Emission Peaks
The late 20th and early 21st centuries saw significant industrial growth, notably with the inauguration of LNG export facilities in 1997 and the expansion of Ras Laffan Industrial City in 2006. These developments contributed to a marked increase in emissions from the energy and industry sectors. The commissioning of the Pearl GTL plant in 2010 further amplified emissions, reflecting Qatar's growing role in the global energy market. Notably, the energy sector's emissions saw substantial increases during this period, with significant yearly changes observed in 2010 and 2013.
Recent Trends and Future Challenges
In recent years, Qatar has faced the challenge of balancing industrial growth with environmental commitments. The launch of Qatar National Vision 2030 and the ratification of the Paris Agreement in 2015 highlight efforts to address emissions. However, the North Field Expansion Project in 2022 underscores ongoing reliance on fossil fuels, with potential for increased emissions. While agriculture and waste sectors have shown fluctuations, the energy sector remains the dominant contributor to Qatar's N2O emissions, posing challenges for future sustainability goals.
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.