Republic of Korea's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Long-Term Profile And Shares
In the Republic of Korea, agriculture accounts for just under half of nitrous oxide emissions, energy about a quarter, industry around an eighth, and waste and other each close to a tenth. Emissions were modest for much of the early record, then expanded during the post‑war era, with sectoral growth arriving at different times.
Agriculture Rises Then Plateaus
From the 1940s to the early 1990s, agricultural emissions climbed steadily. Since the early 1990s they have been broadly stable to slightly easing, typically hovering between roughly 4 and 6 megatonnes. This stability at a high level makes agriculture the dominant driver of the country's N2O climate impact.
Energy And Industry Dynamics
Energy stayed small until the mid‑1970s, accelerated through the late 1970s and early 1990s, and then leveled off. After a brief surge in the mid‑1990s, energy has fluctuated, peaking well over 5 megatonnes before settling more recently around the mid‑4s. Industry spiked around the turn of the 1990s and has generally trended downward since, with some volatility, now near roughly 2 megatonnes.
Waste, Other, And Outlook
Waste rose gradually from the 1960s to the early 2000s and has since stabilized near 1 to just over 1 megatonne. Other grew into the early 1990s and then eased slightly, remaining around 1 to 1.5 megatonnes. Looking ahead, agriculture's high, steady levels require sustained reduction; energy appears to be easing and should continue downward; industry's decline is encouraging; and keeping waste and other flat or falling will help consolidate national progress.
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 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 (1750-2023)
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.