Tunisia's Sources of N2O Emissions
Key Insights
Agricultural Emissions Dominate
Tunisia's N2O emissions have been predominantly driven by agriculture, which has consistently been the largest contributor over the decades. The introduction of European farming techniques during the French Protectorate era likely set the stage for increased emissions. The decadal data shows a steady rise in agricultural emissions, with significant increases noted in the 20th century. This trend aligns with the modernization of agricultural practices post-independence, which may have further amplified emissions.
Industrial and Energy Shifts
The discovery and expansion of oil fields in the 1960s and 1970s marked a shift in Tunisia's energy landscape, contributing to increased N2O emissions from the energy sector. Although the energy sector's share of total emissions remains smaller compared to agriculture, its growth is notable. The introduction of natural gas in 1983 and subsequent renewable energy strategies in the 2000s reflect Tunisia's efforts to diversify its energy sources, potentially mitigating some emissions.
Environmental Initiatives and Recent Trends
In recent decades, Tunisia has taken steps to address its environmental impact. The launch of an Environmental Action Plan in 1994 and the commitment to the Paris Agreement in 2015 highlight the country's dedication to reducing emissions. While these initiatives aim to curb greenhouse gases, the data indicates that agricultural emissions continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace. The launch of solar energy projects in 2018 represents a positive move towards sustainable energy, potentially influencing future emission trends.
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.