Russian Federation's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Emissions Dominate
Throughout the decades, agriculture has been the primary source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in the Russian Federation. The data reveals a significant increase in emissions from agriculture during the 20th century, peaking in the 1980s. This trend aligns with historical events such as the collectivization of agriculture in the 1930s, which likely intensified agricultural practices and emissions. However, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to a marked decline in agricultural emissions, reflecting the economic turmoil and reduced industrial activity during that period.
Industrial and Energy Shifts
The industrial sector saw a dramatic rise in N2O emissions from the mid-20th century, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, coinciding with the Soviet Union's industrial expansion. The launch of Sputnik in 1957 and subsequent technological advancements likely contributed to this increase. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 resulted in a sharp decline in industrial emissions, as economic activities slowed. Similarly, energy-related emissions surged during the industrialization surge of the late 19th century and continued to rise until the 1990s, when they began to stabilize.
Recent Trends and Global Events
In recent years, the Russian Federation's N2O emissions have shown varied trends across different sectors. The rise of the Russian oil industry in the early 2000s contributed to increased emissions, while the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 temporarily reduced industrial activity and emissions. The 2022 invasion of Ukraine has also impacted energy markets, potentially influencing future emission trends. These events highlight the complex interplay between geopolitical factors and emission patterns in the Russian Federation.
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.