Livestock emissions linked to fertilizer use
Comparing Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural use) with Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) across 154 countries, 2023–2050.
- Rank correlation
- +0.78
- Holding size constant
- +0.41
- Countries compared
- 154
- Period
- 2023–2050
What might link these
The relationship between emissions from livestock and synthetic fertilizer use might be driven by agricultural practices, as both are related to farming activities. A careful reader should be cautious about assuming causation, considering factors like agricultural land use or crop type as potential confounders. The correlation controlling for population and GDP suggests a more nuanced relationship than initially apparent.
Why this is not proof of anything
This is a correlation across countries, not an experiment. It cannot show that either indicator causes the other, and both may simply follow a third thing. This correlation could mislead by implying a direct causal link between fertilizer use and livestock emissions, when in fact other agricultural factors may be driving the relationship.
The second figure above repeats the measurement with national population and income held constant. It is the more conservative number: a relationship that largely disappears there was mostly telling you that larger, richer countries have more of most things.
How this was measured
Both indicators were ranked across every country reporting each, and the two rankings compared — ranks rather than raw values, because a handful of very large countries can otherwise manufacture a relationship on their own. The calculation is arithmetic over figures already published on this site; the commentary above is drafted from the two indicator names and the resulting coefficients.