Singapore's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Industrialization and Emissions Surge
Singapore's journey through industrialization significantly impacted its N₂O emissions, particularly from the industrial sector. The establishment of the Jurong Industrial Estate in 1963 marked a pivotal shift towards industrialization, leading to increased energy consumption and emissions. The opening of the Pulau Bukom Refinery in 1971 further amplified industrial emissions, as the refining process contributed to higher greenhouse gas outputs. These developments are reflected in the data, which shows a substantial rise in N₂O emissions from industry during these decades.
Transition to Cleaner Energy
The early 2000s saw Singapore making strides towards cleaner energy sources. The introduction of natural gas in 2001 marked a significant transition from oil, contributing to a reduction in CO₂ emissions. This shift is evident in the data, where a decrease in emissions growth is observed. The expansion of the Singapore LNG Terminal in 2010 further supported this transition, reinforcing the country's commitment to energy diversification and cleaner energy sources.
Policy Measures and Emissions Control
In recent years, Singapore has implemented several policy measures to control emissions. The introduction of a carbon emissions reporting mandate in 2013 and the implementation of a carbon tax in 2019 aimed to enhance transparency and incentivize emissions reductions. These policies likely contributed to a gradual reduction in emissions growth, as companies were encouraged to adopt cleaner technologies and improve energy efficiency. The data reflects these efforts, showing a stabilization in emissions levels in the most recent decade.
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.