Total global carbon emissions and absorption 1750-2019

Between 1750 and 2019, approximately 700 gigatons of carbon have been released into the atmosphere via human activity. Almost two thirds of this was in the form of fossil fuel emissions, while the rest was due to land-use change i.e., converting land for agricultural, commercial, or urban purposes. There was virtually no difference in the quantity of CO₂ released from fossil fuels in the periods beginning in 1750 and 1850, as the majority of these emissions have come in the past century - in fact, roughly 82 percent of all fossil fuel emissions released between 1750 and 2019 were released after 1959.

The earth's oceans, land, and atmosphere all absorb these emissions to varying degrees, however the share of carbon sequestered by the oceans and land has decreased over time, meaning that higher quantities of carbon remain in the atmosphere. This surplus of carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere, and human activity in recent years has accelerated this to an unsustainable level.