In 2023, China was the biggest carbon polluter in the world by far, having released 11.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (GtCO₂). Although the U.S. was the second-biggest emitter, with 4.9 GtCO₂ in 2023, its CO₂ emissions have declined by 13 percent since 2010. By comparison, China’s CO₂ emissions have increased by more than 38 percent in the same period. Cumulative emissions Although China is currently the world's largest carbon polluter, the U.S. has released far more historical carbon dioxide emissions, at more than 400 GtCO₂ since 1750. The wide gap between the two countries is because China's emissions have mostly been produced in the past two decades. Combined, the U.S. and China account for roughly 40 percent of cumulative CO₂ emissions since the Industrial Revolution began. Sources of emissions One of the largest sources of global CO₂ emissions is the power sector, with electricity produced by coal-fired power plants a significant contributor. In China, emissions from coal-fired electricity generation have soared since the turn of the century, and reached 5.2 GtCO₂ in 2023.

Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry totaled 37.01 billion metric tons (GtCO₂) in 2023. Emissions are projected to have risen 1.08 percent in 2024 to reach a record high of 37.41 GtCO₂. Since 1990, global CO₂ emissions have increased by more than 60 percent. Who are the biggest emitters? The biggest contributor to global GHG emissions is China, followed by the United States. China wasn't always the world's biggest emitter, but rapid economic growth and industrialization in recent decades have seen emissions there soar. Since 1990, CO₂ emissions in China have increased by almost 450 percent. By comparison, U.S. CO₂ emissions have fallen by 6.1 percent. Nevertheless, the North American country remains the biggest carbon polluter in history. Global events cause emissions to drop The outbreak of COVID-19 caused global CO₂ emissions to plummet some 5.5 percent in 2020 as a result of lockdowns and other restrictions. However, this wasn't the only time in recent history when a major global event caused emissions reductions. For example, the global recession resulted in CO₂ levels to fall by almost two percent in 2009, while the recession in the early 1980s also had a notable impact on emissions. On a percentage basis, the largest annual reduction was at the end of the Second World War in 1945, when emissions decreased by 17 percent.

In 2022, global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from cars and vans grew by roughly 1.4 percent year-on-year to 3.53 billion metric tons (GtCO₂). Overall, light duty vehicle emissions grew by 12 percent between 2010 and 2022.

Global direct carbon dioxide emissions from rail totaled 94.6 million metric tons (MtCO₂) in 2022. Rail is the least carbon intensive mode of transportation, and accounted for just one percent of global transportation CO₂ emissions in 2022. Although rail emissions have increased since 2020, they remain well below the pre-pandemic peak of 104 MtCO₂ recorded in 2019. Under the Net Zero Scenario, rail emissions will need to drop to 63 MtCO₂ by 2030, which will require the increased electrification of the sector.

Germany has consistently produced the most carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union. In 2023, Europe's largest economy emitted nearly 572 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. This was slightly more than the combined emissions produced by the next largest emitters in the EU – Italy and Poland. Combined, these three countries accounted for roughly half of EU carbon dioxide emissions in 2023. Carbon footprints Although Luxembourg is one of the lowest overall carbon polluters in the EU, the country's per capita GHG emissions are the highest throughout the bloc, at 12.5 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per capita. This is almost double the EU average. There are multiple reasons for this, such as a high car ownership rate, and fuel-tourism from neighboring countries due to low prices. Emission reduction targets As part of the EU's Effort Sharing Regulation, member states will collectively contribute to EU-level emission reductions of 40 percent in 2030, relative to 2005 levels. The ESR establishes binding GHG emissions targets for each member state. These targets vary greatly, with wealthier countries typically having higher targets. Germany, for example, will need to cut its emissions by 50 percent by 2030, relative to 2005 levels.

Global total carbon dioxide emissions increased by roughly one percent in 2022 to reach **** billion metric tons (GtCO₂). Under the IEA's Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2050 scenario, total CO₂ emissions could fall to approximately *** GtCO₂ by 2040, before reaching net-zero by 2050. Under the NZE scenario, wind and solar PV, together with increased electrification, would account for almost ** percent of cumulative CO₂ reductions from 2022 through to 2050.

In 2023, China had the highest fossil carbon dioxide emissions amongst G20 countries. Emissions in the East Asian country totaled 12.3 billion metric tons that year. Argentina, on the other hand, had the lowest CO₂ emissions in the G20, at around 184 million metric tons.

Based on median estimates, an annual average of 5.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) was added to the earth's atmosphere in each year of the 2010s. A total of 11 gigatons of CO2 was added via the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use (such as deforestation for agriculture), while 5.9 gigatons was absorbed by the land and ocean. This process is known as the carbon cycle, and has regulated the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide in our atmosphere for billions of years. However, human activity in recent centuries has seen the balance between CO2 emissions and CO2 uptake shift dramatically, causing a higher excess of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which prevents heat from escaping and leads to a quicker rise in ocean and surface temperatures.

Global passenger car emissions reached **** billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (GtCO₂) in 2023. This represents an overall increase of ** percent when compared to 2010 levels. Under the IEA's Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2050 scenario, emissions from passenger cars would fall to almost *** MtCO₂ by 2040, and less than 100 MtCO₂ by mid-century.

In 2023, global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes reached a record high of 37.8 billion metric tons (GtCO₂). Global CO₂ emissions are projected to have reached record levels in 2024. The world has pumped more than 1,800 GtCO₂ into the atmosphere since the industrial revolution began, though almost 45 percent has been produced since 2000. What is carbon dioxide? CO₂ is a colorless, naturally occurring gas that is released after people and animals inhale oxygen. It is a greenhouse gas, meaning it absorbs and releases thermal radiation which in turn creates the “greenhouse effect”. In addition to other greenhouse gases, CO₂ is also a major contributor to the ability of the Earth to maintain a habitable temperature. Without CO₂ and other greenhouse gases, Earth would be too cold to live on. However, while CO₂ alone is not a harmful gas, the abundance of it is what causes climate change. The increased use of electricity, transportation, and deforestation in human society have resulted in the increased emissions of CO₂, which in turn has seen a rise in earth’s temperature. In fact, around 70 percent of global warming since 1851 is attributable to CO₂ emissions from human activities. Who are the largest emitters worldwide? China is the biggest carbon polluter worldwide, having released almost 12 GtCO₂ in 2023. This was more than the combined emissions of the United States and India, the second and third-largest emitters that year, respectively.

China's carbon dioxide emissions have risen more than fivefold since 1990, with the country accounting for around 34 percent of total global CO₂ emissions in 2023. In comparison, CO₂ emissions in the United Kingdom were almost 50 percent lower than in 1990. Why have emissions in the UK dropped? The UK achieved the biggest emissions reductions between 1990 and 2023 among the world's 20 biggest CO₂ emitters. Much of the UK’s emissions cuts are attributable to the country’s phase-out of coal-fired power and the shift toward natural gas and renewable energy sources. CO₂ emissions growth in developing countries While emissions in developed countries, including the UK, U.S. Japan, and Germany, have experienced overall reductions since 1990, those in developing regions have soared. For example, rapid economic development has seen annual CO₂ emissions in India increase almost fivefold since 1990 to around three billion metric tons, while those in Vietnam have grown almost 2,000 percent.

Global carbon dioxide emissions from iron and steel production and manufacturing totaled 2.8 billion metric tons (GtCO₂) in 2023. Emissions from this industry sector have increased by 33 percent since 2010, and were estimated to account for a seven percent share of total global GHG emissions in 2023.

Global fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions were around ** billion metric tons (GtCO₂) in 2023. Under current policy settings, global fossil CO₂ emissions are expected to peak in the coming years, and fall to **** GtCO₂ by 2030. The electricity and heat sector is projected to experience emissions reductions of ** percent between 2023 and 2050, while those from the industry sector would remain stable over this period.

Energy consumption in the United States produced 4.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (GtCO₂) in 2024 - a decrease of 0.4 percent from the previous year. U.S. CO₂ emissions from energy consumption have fallen by approximately 20 percent since 2005. Sources of emissions in the U.S. The main source of CO₂ emissions in the U.S. is the transportation sector. For many years, the power sector was the country’s biggest contributor to CO₂ emissions, but the transition towards cleaner energy sources and a shift away from coal-fired power generation – the most carbon intensive fossil fuel – have slashed emissions from this sector. Meanwhile, transportation emissions have continued to rise, except for an unprecedented drop in 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19. U.S. transportation emissions The U.S. is the biggest contributor to global transportation emissions by far. The states with the largest transportation-related emissions in the U.S. are Texas and California, which combined account for almost one quarter of total U.S. transportation emissions.

Reported manufacturing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the Coca-Cola System totaled **** million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂e) in 2023. This represented a one percent increase from the previous year. The Coca-Cola System includes the Coca‑Cola Company and its bottling partners. Coca-cola manufacturing emissions by scope Of the near six MtCO₂e generated by the Coca-Cola System in 2023, five percent came from Coca-Cola's direct manufacturing emissions. Meanwhile, ** percent were linked to Scope 3 franchise emissions, i.e. GHG emissions produced from independent bottling partners. Coca-Cola sustainability goals Having achieved its goal of reducing relative CO₂ emissions by ** percent by 2020 compared with the 2010 baseline, the Coca-Cola Company has now set a Science-based target of reducing absolute GHG emissions by 25 percent by 2030 compared to a 2015 baseline. The Coca-Cola System's reported emissions in 2023 were approximately ***** percent below 2015 levels.

The carbon intensity of the iron and steel sector worldwide was 1.41 metric tons of CO2 per metric ton of steel in 2022. Although that value is somewhat lower than it was a decade earlier, it needs to reach 1.07 by 2030 in order to remain on the pathway toward net zero emissions.

Passenger cars produced approximately three billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide in 2020. The emissions produced by passenger cars have been steadily rising over the past two decades, increasing from 2.2 billion metric tons in 2000 to a peak of 3.2 million metric tons. Emissions fell roughly six percent in a 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused major disruptions to transportation.

This statistic displays the distribution of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide from 1970 to 2010, based on groups of gases. In 2000, the global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel and industrial processes accounted for 62 percent of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide can be removed from the atmosphere through reforestation, soil improvements, and other carbon sinks.

This statistic shows the global carbon dioxide emissions per unit of value added in 2000 and 2013, by region. During the period, the Caucasus and Central Asia have reduced their carbon dioxide emissions per unit of value added, amounting to 1.02 kilograms per constant 2010 U.S. dollar in 2000 and 0.55 kilograms per constant 2010 U.S. dollar in 2013.

The global power industry produced 15 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO₂e) in 2023. This accounted for around 28 percent of global GHG emissions, and was almost double the emissions of the global transportation sector that year. The global power industry was consistently been the biggest overall contributor to global GHG emissions between 1990 and 2023.