Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Waste in Australia
Australia: Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Waste was 1.03 Mt CO2e in 2024. ▲ Rising
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Waste 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
Australia recorded 1.03 Mt CO2e for nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from waste in 2024. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
The figure is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 12.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from waste in Australia peaked at 1.03 Mt CO2e in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.2728 Mt CO2e, in 1974.
That places Australia 26th out of 203 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Waste in Australia, year by year
| Year | Mt CO2e | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.2767 Mt CO2e | — |
| 1971 | 0.2856 Mt CO2e | +3.2% |
| 1972 | 0.2902 Mt CO2e | +1.6% |
| 1973 | 0.2816 Mt CO2e | -3.0% |
| 1974 | 0.2728 Mt CO2e | -3.1% |
| 1975 | 0.2999 Mt CO2e | +9.9% |
| 1976 | 0.3005 Mt CO2e | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 0.2991 Mt CO2e | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 0.3069 Mt CO2e | +2.6% |
| 1979 | 0.2983 Mt CO2e | -2.8% |
| 1980 | 0.2917 Mt CO2e | -2.2% |
| 1981 | 0.297 Mt CO2e | +1.8% |
| 1982 | 0.3073 Mt CO2e | +3.5% |
| 1983 | 0.3052 Mt CO2e | -0.7% |
| 1984 | 0.3184 Mt CO2e | +4.3% |
| 1985 | 0.3191 Mt CO2e | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 0.32 Mt CO2e | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 0.329 Mt CO2e | +2.8% |
| 1988 | 0.3328 Mt CO2e | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 0.3367 Mt CO2e | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 0.3377 Mt CO2e | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 0.35 Mt CO2e | +3.6% |
| 1992 | 0.3686 Mt CO2e | +5.3% |
| 1993 | 0.3882 Mt CO2e | +5.3% |
| 1994 | 0.4087 Mt CO2e | +5.3% |
| 1995 | 0.4232 Mt CO2e | +3.5% |
| 1996 | 0.4354 Mt CO2e | +2.9% |
| 1997 | 0.4489 Mt CO2e | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 0.463 Mt CO2e | +3.1% |
| 1999 | 0.4804 Mt CO2e | +3.8% |
| 2000 | 0.5026 Mt CO2e | +4.6% |
| 2001 | 0.5221 Mt CO2e | +3.9% |
| 2002 | 0.5488 Mt CO2e | +5.1% |
| 2003 | 0.5674 Mt CO2e | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 0.5859 Mt CO2e | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 0.5997 Mt CO2e | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 0.6322 Mt CO2e | +5.4% |
| 2007 | 0.6558 Mt CO2e | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 0.6828 Mt CO2e | +4.1% |
| 2009 | 0.7233 Mt CO2e | +5.9% |
| 2010 | 0.7917 Mt CO2e | +9.5% |
| 2011 | 0.8803 Mt CO2e | +11.2% |
| 2012 | 0.892 Mt CO2e | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 0.9025 Mt CO2e | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 0.9135 Mt CO2e | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 0.9258 Mt CO2e | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 0.9415 Mt CO2e | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 0.9536 Mt CO2e | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 0.9692 Mt CO2e | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 0.9874 Mt CO2e | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 0.9986 Mt CO2e | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 0.9981 Mt CO2e | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 1.01 Mt CO2e | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 1.02 Mt CO2e | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 1.03 Mt CO2e | +1.1% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 1.03 Mt CO2e is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0866 Mt CO2e, 11.9× the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Australia's 1.03 Mt CO2e is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0132 Mt CO2e, 78.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.2912 Mt CO2e | 0.2728 Mt CO2e | 0.3069 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3157 Mt CO2e | 0.2917 Mt CO2e | 0.3367 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4104 Mt CO2e | 0.3377 Mt CO2e | 0.4804 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6021 Mt CO2e | 0.5026 Mt CO2e | 0.7233 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9158 Mt CO2e | 0.7917 Mt CO2e | 0.9874 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.01 Mt CO2e | 0.9981 Mt CO2e | 1.03 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)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.2559 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 2.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from waste in Australia?
- Nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from waste in Australia was 1.03 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 waste recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.03 Mt CO2e in 2024.
- What is the lowest nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from waste recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2728 Mt CO2e in 1974.
- How does Australia rank for nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from waste?
- Australia ranks 26th out of 203 countries with data for 2024.
- Is nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from waste rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.8%. 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 Waste (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 waste sector. This includes emissions from solid waste (IPCC 2006 codes 4.A Solid Waste Disposal, 4.B Biological Treatment of Solid Waste, 4.C Incineration and Open Burning of Waste) and wastewater treatment (IPCC 2006 code 4.D Wastewater Treatment and Discharge). The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors of IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5).