Emissions of potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N20), which have been rising steadily since 1980, could have “dire consequences for the planet”, researchers from the Global Carbon Project (GCP) have said.

It’s estimated that agricultural production accounted for around 74% of human-driven N2O emissions in the 2010s – a gas thought to have 300 times more global-warming effect than carbon dioxide.

In a report – Global nitrous oxide budget (1980-2020) – researchers attribute its production primarily to the use of chemical fertilisers and animal waste on croplands. It is also produced from stationary combustion sources, predominantly from the burning of coal at electric power plants.

At a time when greenhouse gas emissions must decline to reduce global warming, in 2020 and 2021 nitrous oxide flowed into the atmosphere at the fastest rates in history, the researchers reported. On Earth, excess nitrogen contributes to soil, water and air pollution. In the atmosphere, it depletes the ozone layer...