Euro area - Agricultural nitrous oxide emissions (% of total)

Agricultural nitrous oxide emissions (% of total) in Euro area was 70.00 as of 2008. Its highest value over the past 38 years was 70.00 in 2008, while its lowest value was 41.82 in 1974.

Definition: Agricultural nitrous oxide emissions are emissions produced through fertilizer use (synthetic and animal manure), animal waste management, agricultural waste burning (nonenergy, on-site), and savannah burning.

Source: World Bank staff estimates from original source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)/Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL). Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR): http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/.

See also:

Year Value
1970 43.30
1971 43.42
1972 43.49
1973 42.47
1974 41.82
1975 43.85
1976 44.47
1977 44.76
1978 45.20
1979 45.42
1980 46.81
1981 46.89
1982 48.68
1983 48.36
1984 48.45
1985 49.05
1986 50.33
1987 50.14
1988 50.99
1989 50.47
1990 60.49
1991 60.11
1992 58.45
1993 58.44
1994 57.72
1995 57.40
1996 57.18
1997 57.72
1998 63.08
1999 66.18
2000 65.89
2001 65.05
2002 66.10
2003 66.04
2004 66.17
2005 66.01
2006 67.90
2007 68.27
2008 70.00

Development Relevance: The addition of man-made greenhouse gases to the Atmosphere disturbs the earth's radiative balance. This is leading to an increase in the earth's surface temperature and to related effects on climate, sea level rise and world agriculture. Emissions of CO2 are from burning oil, coal and gas for energy use, burning wood and waste materials, and from industrial processes such as cement production. Emission intensity is the average emission rate of a given pollutant from a given source relative to the intensity of a specific activity. Emission intensities are also used to compare the environmental impact of different fuels or activities. The related terms - emission factor and carbon intensity - are often used interchangeably. The carbon dioxide emissions of a country are only an indicator of one greenhouse gas. For a more complete idea of how a country influences climate change, gases such as methane and nitrous oxide should be taken into account. This is particularly important in agricultural economies. The environmental effects of carbon dioxide are of significant interest. Carbon dioxide (CO2) makes up the largest share of the greenhouse gases contributing to global warming and climate change. Converting all other greenhouse gases (methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)) to carbon dioxide (or CO2) equivalents makes it possible to compare them and to determine their individual and total contributions to global warming. The Kyoto Protocol, an environmental agreement adopted in 1997 by many of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is working towards curbing CO2 emissions globally.

Limitations and Exceptions: National reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that follows the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines is based on national emission inventories and covers all sources of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions as well as carbon sinks (such as forests). To estimate emissions, the countries that are Parties to the Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) use complex, state-of-the-art methodologies recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Agricultural nitrous oxide emissions are emissions produced through fertilizer use (synthetic and animal manure), animal waste management, agricultural waste burning (nonenergy, on-site), and savannah burning. IPCC category 4 = Agriculture. Expressed in CO2 equivalent using the GWP100 metric of the Second Assessment Report of IPCC and include N2O (GWP100=310).

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Emissions