Annual global emissions of carbon dioxide 1940-2022

Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry were 37.12 billion metric tons (GtCO₂) in 2021. Emissions are projected to have risen 0.9 percent in 2022 to 37.5 GtCO₂ - their highest ever level. Since 1990, global CO₂ emissions have increased by more than 60 percent. The two biggest contributors to global emissions are China and the United States, who produced 11.47 and 5.01 GtCO₂ in 2021, respectively.

Where have emissions increased?

  One of the biggest reasons for rising emissions has been the economic development of countries around the world, especially in Asia. For example, China wasn't always the world's biggest emitter, but rapid economic growth and industrialization in recent decades have seen emissions there soar. Between 1990 and 2021, CO₂ emissions in China increased more than 400 percent. Emissions in India saw a similar growth rate during this period. In comparison, CO₂ levels in the United States have fallen more than six percent since 1990.

Global events caused emissions to drop

  The outbreak of COVID-19 caused global emissions to plummet five percent in 2020 as a result of lockdowns and other restrictions. However, this wasn't the only time in history when a major global event decreased emissions. For example, the 2009 global recession resulted in CO₂ levels to fall two percent, while the recession in the early 1980s also had a notable impact on emissions. On a percentage basis, the largest reduction was at the end of the second world war in 1945, when emissions decreased by 17 percent.