Trinidad and Tobago's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Early Industrial Influence
Trinidad and Tobago's journey with anthropogenic N₂O emissions began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the discovery of oil in 1908 marking a pivotal moment. This event catalyzed the country's industrial growth, leading to increased emissions from energy and industry sectors. The establishment of the Point Fortin Refinery in 1956 further amplified industrial emissions, as the refining processes contributed significantly to the country's N₂O output.
Petrochemical Expansion and Emissions
The expansion of the petrochemical industry around 2000 marked another significant phase in Trinidad and Tobago's emissions history. This period saw a notable increase in N₂O emissions, particularly from industrial activities related to ammonia and methanol production. The data reflects a substantial rise in emissions during this decade, aligning with the industry's growth and its associated environmental impact.
Recent Trends and Initiatives
In recent years, Trinidad and Tobago has made efforts to address its emissions profile. The introduction of renewable energy initiatives in 2010 and the commitment to the Paris Agreement in 2015 highlight the country's shift towards more sustainable practices. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 temporarily reduced emissions due to decreased industrial activity. While these efforts indicate a positive direction, the long-term impact on emissions trends remains to be seen, as the country continues to balance industrial growth with environmental responsibility.
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.