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When I was born in the 1990s, the average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United Kingdom were about six times higher than in China, but these trends have converged in my lifetime.

You can see this in the chart: in 2022, China’s per capita emissions matched those in the UK.

Once a country that ran on coal, the UK has closed its last coal plant. This has been the main driver of its emissions decline.

Meanwhile, rapid economic growth, powered mainly by coal, has ramped up emissions in China.

These emission numbers are adjusted for trade. Based on domestic production, China’s per capita emissions are much higher than the UK's. But since China is a net exporter of goods (and emissions) and the UK is a net importer, the gap closes when we adjust for consumption.

These emissions are based on domestic consumption and do not include international aviation or shipping, where Brits are likely to emit more.

There are many ways to compare national contributions to climate change; explore them here →

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Global air travel collapsed in 2020 as lockdowns and travel restrictions took effect. With fewer flights, CO₂ emissions from commercial aviation fell sharply. The chart shows Egypt as an example, where they dropped by more than half.

As air travel rebounded, emissions rose too — in many countries, they’ve now surpassed pre-pandemic levels. These countries are highlighted in red on the chart.

Emissions from flying make up about 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, but air travel has one of the highest carbon footprints per passenger. As demand grows, reducing its impact will be important for meeting climate goals.

Read my colleague Hannah Ritchie’s article to learn more about aviation’s contribution to global CO₂ emissions →

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Globally, electricity and heating remain the largest sources of carbon emissions, but in some countries, transport has overtaken them.

In Spain and Austria, heating and electricity emissions fell while transport rose. In the UK, both declined.

The trend reflects the decarbonization of electricity, driven by the transition to renewables, while transport emissions remain high due to continued reliance on fossil fuels.

As countries work toward net-zero targets, addressing transport emissions will be critical in the fight against climate change.

Explore more in our data on greenhouse emissions →

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When we emit carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere, most of it stays there for centuries or millennia. This means that CO₂ emitted even a century ago has contributed to the rising temperatures we see today.

In other words, how much the climate warms depends on how much cumulative CO₂ is emitted over time.

The chart shows the ten countries with the largest share of the world’s historical emissions, based on cumulative emissions from fossil fuels and industry since 1750.

The United States has contributed the most, accounting for almost one quarter. This is followed by China and Russia.

There are many other ways to understand contributions to climate change – explore data on annual, per capita, and trade-adjusted emissions →

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To tackle climate change, the world needs to rapidly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. But before we reduce emissions, we need to stop them rising; the world needs to pass the peak.

Globally, total CO2 emissions are still slowly increasing. The Global Carbon Project just released its preliminary estimates for 2024, which suggest another 0.8% increase.

However, while total emissions have not yet peaked, emissions per person have. Globally, per capita CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels peaked in 2012. When land use emissions — which are more uncertain and noisier — are included, they peaked in the 1970s and have fluctuated since then. You can see both trends in the chart.

This suggests that, globally, lifestyles are slowly decarbonizing. However, to come closer to our global climate targets, economies must decarbonize much faster to push total emissions into decline.

Explore the latest CO2 emissions data in our updated charts →

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Around 90% of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions come from fossil fuels and industrial processes such as cement production. The other 10% comes from land use change, primarily carbon released from trees and vegetation due to deforestation.

Fossil fuels are also the biggest source of emissions at the national level in most countries across the world. But there are a few exceptions.

In the chart, you can see the share of emissions from fossil fuels compared to land use change across a small selection of countries. In the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, fossil fuels dominate. This data comes from the Global Carbon Project.

However, in Brazil, land use change plays a much more significant role. This is for two reasons. First, deforestation rates are higher than in most other countries. Second, Brazil has a very clean power grid. Most of its electricity comes from hydropower, with solar and wind also growing quickly. It burns very little coal and gas.

Explore data on how emissions compare across the world and by source →

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Food miles — moving products from farms to processors to consumers — contribute just 5% to 6% of the greenhouse gas emissions from food. Instead, most emissions come from land use change or emissions on the farm.

Within food miles, people often assume that international freight accounts for most of the climate impact. In reality, most of these emissions come from domestic delivery trucks on the road.

In the chart, you can see the breakdown of transport’s 5% of food emissions. Road transport represents 3.9%, compared to just 0.02% from aviation. This is based on data from a 2021 study by researchers M. Crippa and colleagues.

International food miles are just a small share of emissions because very little food is flown by air, and transporting goods by boat is much more carbon-efficient than by road.

Read more about the impact of food miles →

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Richer people tend to have a higher carbon footprint. They consume more energy, and since much of it still comes from fossil fuels, they have much higher carbon emissions than those on lower incomes.

This inequality is clear when we examine countries' contributions by income level. The chart above shows the four World Bank income groups’ share of global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and population, using data from the Global Carbon Project. The groups are based on the average income at the country level — they don’t account for differences between people’s incomes within each country.

High-income countries contribute more than twice their share of the global population: they are home to just 15% of people but emit 34% of global emissions. Low-income countries are home to 9% of the global population but emit less than 1% of total emissions.

This gap increases by several percentage points when we account for emissions embedded in traded goods.

Read more →

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France generates two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear power. As the chart shows, that’s far more than the global average, just under 10%. Even though its share in France has declined slightly in recent years, it’s still its dominant power source.

Nuclear power is a low-carbon electricity source, allowing France to have a very clean electricity mix for decades.

Per unit of electricity, France emits far less carbon dioxide (CO₂) than its neighbors and has some of the lowest-carbon power in the world. The global average is 438 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated. In France, this figure is 85 grams.

Explore the data →