Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Agriculture in Australia
Australia: Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Agriculture was 38.62 Mt CO2e in 2024. ▲ Rising
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Agriculture in Australia, 1970–2024
Source: EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission. Measured in Mt CO2e.
Analysis
In 2024, nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from agriculture in Australia stood at 38.62 Mt CO2e. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.8% on the previous year and up 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from agriculture in Australia peaked at 38.62 Mt CO2e in 2024 and was at its lowest, 26.2 Mt CO2e, in 1983.
That places Australia 8th out of 201 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Agriculture in Australia, year by year
| Year | Mt CO2e | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 28.51 Mt CO2e | — |
| 1971 | 29.75 Mt CO2e | +4.4% |
| 1972 | 29.82 Mt CO2e | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 28.31 Mt CO2e | -5.1% |
| 1974 | 29.94 Mt CO2e | +5.8% |
| 1975 | 31.17 Mt CO2e | +4.1% |
| 1976 | 31.56 Mt CO2e | +1.3% |
| 1977 | 28.97 Mt CO2e | -8.2% |
| 1978 | 28.14 Mt CO2e | -2.9% |
| 1979 | 27.83 Mt CO2e | -1.1% |
| 1980 | 27.3 Mt CO2e | -1.9% |
| 1981 | 26.96 Mt CO2e | -1.3% |
| 1982 | 26.54 Mt CO2e | -1.5% |
| 1983 | 26.2 Mt CO2e | -1.3% |
| 1984 | 26.84 Mt CO2e | +2.4% |
| 1985 | 27.42 Mt CO2e | +2.2% |
| 1986 | 28.01 Mt CO2e | +2.1% |
| 1987 | 27.37 Mt CO2e | -2.3% |
| 1988 | 28.56 Mt CO2e | +4.3% |
| 1989 | 29.76 Mt CO2e | +4.2% |
| 1990 | 31.9 Mt CO2e | +7.2% |
| 1991 | 31.77 Mt CO2e | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 30.62 Mt CO2e | -3.6% |
| 1993 | 30.87 Mt CO2e | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 31.6 Mt CO2e | +2.3% |
| 1995 | 30.06 Mt CO2e | -4.9% |
| 1996 | 32.37 Mt CO2e | +7.7% |
| 1997 | 33.05 Mt CO2e | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 33.68 Mt CO2e | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 34.2 Mt CO2e | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 34.88 Mt CO2e | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 34.76 Mt CO2e | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 34.46 Mt CO2e | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 31.85 Mt CO2e | -7.6% |
| 2004 | 34.77 Mt CO2e | +9.2% |
| 2005 | 34.22 Mt CO2e | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 33.27 Mt CO2e | -2.8% |
| 2007 | 31.37 Mt CO2e | -5.7% |
| 2008 | 30.36 Mt CO2e | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 30.81 Mt CO2e | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 30.59 Mt CO2e | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 32.96 Mt CO2e | +7.8% |
| 2012 | 33.37 Mt CO2e | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 34.68 Mt CO2e | +3.9% |
| 2014 | 34.93 Mt CO2e | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 33.42 Mt CO2e | -4.3% |
| 2016 | 32.61 Mt CO2e | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 35.84 Mt CO2e | +9.9% |
| 2018 | 32.26 Mt CO2e | -10.0% |
| 2019 | 30.95 Mt CO2e | -4.1% |
| 2020 | 31.19 Mt CO2e | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 35.42 Mt CO2e | +13.6% |
| 2022 | 34.65 Mt CO2e | -2.2% |
| 2023 | 37.95 Mt CO2e | +9.5% |
| 2024 | 38.62 Mt CO2e | +1.8% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 38.62 Mt CO2e is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.8414 Mt CO2e, 45.9× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Australia's 38.62 Mt CO2e is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0594 Mt CO2e, 650.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 29.4 Mt CO2e | 27.83 Mt CO2e | 31.56 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 1980s | 27.5 Mt CO2e | 26.2 Mt CO2e | 29.76 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 1990s | 32.01 Mt CO2e | 30.06 Mt CO2e | 34.2 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2000s | 33.08 Mt CO2e | 30.36 Mt CO2e | 34.88 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.16 Mt CO2e | 30.59 Mt CO2e | 35.84 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.57 Mt CO2e | 31.19 Mt CO2e | 38.62 Mt CO2e | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from agriculture in Australia?
- Nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from agriculture in Australia was 38.62 Mt CO2e in 2024, according to EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission.
- What is the highest nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from agriculture recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 38.62 Mt CO2e in 2024.
- What is the lowest nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from agriculture recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.2 Mt CO2e in 1983.
- How does Australia rank for nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from agriculture?
- Australia ranks 8th out of 201 countries with data for 2024.
- Is nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from agriculture rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission, published as part of Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
A measure of annual emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases (GHG), from the agricultural sector. This includes emissions from livestock (IPCC 2006 codes 3.A.1 (enteric fermentation, 3.a.2 (manure management) and crops (IPCC 2006 codes 3.C.1 Emissions from biomass burning, 3.C.2 Liming, 3.C.3 Urea application, 3.C.4 Direct N2O Emissions from managed soils, 3.C.5 Indirect N2O Emissions from managed soils, 3.C.6 Indirect N2O Emissions from manure management, 3.C.7 Rice cultivations). The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors of IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5).