China - Agricultural nitrous oxide emissions (% of total)

Agricultural nitrous oxide emissions (% of total) in China was 73.85 as of 2008. Its highest value over the past 38 years was 82.68 in 1996, while its lowest value was 70.96 in 1978.

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 74.65
1971 75.19
1972 74.41
1973 73.14
1974 73.30
1975 72.63
1976 73.29
1977 72.41
1978 70.96
1979 71.62
1980 71.78
1981 72.07
1982 72.46
1983 71.99
1984 72.91
1985 72.65
1986 72.30
1987 73.63
1988 74.48
1989 74.77
1990 81.07
1991 81.23
1992 81.30
1993 80.50
1994 81.05
1995 82.38
1996 82.68
1997 80.48
1998 80.05
1999 80.04
2000 78.78
2001 78.13
2002 78.33
2003 77.65
2004 77.59
2005 77.29
2006 76.07
2007 74.73
2008 73.85

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