This greenhouse gas is worse than CO2 and emissions are going up faster than we thought

Global emissions of nitrous oxide, the third most important greenhouse gas from nitrogen-based fertilisers, have increased for many decades but accelerated since 2009 above what previous estimates have suggested, according to Australian and international scientists. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas - in climate change terms one tonne of nitrous oxide is equivalent to 298 tonnes of carbon dioxide, and the researchers say that we also need to reduce these sorts of gases to meet ambitious climate targets. The researchers say China, India and Brazil made the largest contributions to the global increase, while other regions show that it is possible to increase agricultural yields without increasing nitrous oxide emissions.