Our World in Data - CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Fossil fuels are the dirtiest and most dangerous energy sources, while nuclear and modern renewable energy sources are vastly safer and cleaner.

April 16, 2026 France generates two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear power, making it the country’s dominant power source. As the chart shows, that’s far more than the average across Europe, which is 20%, and the world as a whole, at 9%. Nuclear power is a low-carbon electricity source, giving France a very clean electricity mix for decades. Per unit of electricity, France

Globally, we emit around 50 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases yearly. Where do these emissions come from? We take a look, sector-by-sector.

Which countries emit the most greenhouse gases each year? How do they compare per person?

How much do electricity, transport, and land use contribute to different greenhouse gas emissions?

March 17, 2025 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 CO

Which countries are net importers and exports of emissions? How much CO2 is ‘offshored’?

Our impact on climate change is not just about emissions that occur today. How much we emitted in the past also matters.

We updated our charts on climate change with the latest data on CO₂, temperatures, ocean heat, snow cover, and more.

Human emissions of greenhouse gases are the primary driver of climate change. The world needs to decarbonize to reduce them.

January 16 Explore updated data on greenhouse gas emissions and their climate impacts To limit and stop climate change, we need to greatly reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Our CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data Explorer lets you track how emissions are changing country by country, and also understand their impacts on the climate.

Which countries emit the most CO2 today? How do annual emissions vary across the world?

Update This article was first published in 2020. It was updated in 2023 with more recent data. Transport accounts for around one-quarter of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy.1 In some countries — often richer countries with populations that travel often — transport can be one of the largest segments of an individual’s carbon footprint. If you need to travel locally or abroad, what…

Aviation accounts for 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions. But it has contributed around 4% to global warming to date.

There are many ways to measure countries’ contributions to climate change. What do they tell us?

It is possible to reduce emissions while growing the economy. But this decoupling needs to happen faster.

Food waste accounts for around one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions from food. That's 6% of total global emissions.