Details Last Updated: 08 January 2020 08 January 2020

Global carbon (C) emissions from fossil fuel use were 9.795 gigatonnes (Gt) in 2014 (or 35.9 GtCO 2 of carbon dioxide). Fossil fuel emissions were 0.6% above emissions in 2013 and 60% above emissions in 1990 (the reference year in the Kyoto Protocol).

Based on a 2015 GDP forecast of 3.1% by the International Monetary Fund, the Global Carbon Project projects a 2015 decline of 0.6% in global emissions.

Annual Global Carbon Emissions

2015 Global Carbon Budget

Global Emissions Year Total

Fossil Fuel

& Cement

Land-Use

Change

2014 9.795 GtC ~ 0.9 Gtc 2013 9.735 GtC 2012 9.575 GtC 2011 9.449 GtC 2010 9.995 Gtc 9.140 GtC 0.855 GtC 2009 9.567 Gtc 8.700 GtC 0.867 GtC 2008 9.666 Gtc 8.740 GtC 0.926 GtC 2007 9.472 Gtc 8.532 GtC 0.940 GtC 2006 9.355 Gtc 8.363 GtC 0.992 GtC

Source Data Global Carbon Project [.xlxs]

*Convert carbon to carbon dioxide (CO2) by multiplying the numbers above by 3.67.

1 gigatonne of carbon (GtC) = 1 billion tonnes of carbon

Human Sources

Fossil fuel emissions (including cement production) accounted for about 91% of total CO 2 emissions from human sources in 2014. This portion of emissions originates from coal (42%), oil (33%), gas (19%), cement (6%) and gas flaring (1%).

Changes in land use are responsible for about 9% of all global CO 2 emissions.

In 2013, the largest national contributions to the net growth in total global emissions in 2013 were China (58% of the growth), USA (20% of the growth), India (17% of the growth), and EU28 (a decrease by 11% of the growth).

Natural Sinks

For the decade from 2005 to 2014, about 44% of CO2 emissions accumulated in the atmosphere, 26% in the ocean, and 30% on land.

Cumulative Emisions



From 1870 to 2014, cumulative carbon emissions totaled about 545 GtC. Emissions were partitioned among the atmosphere (approx. 230 GtC or 42%), ocean (approx. 155 GtC or 28%) and the land (approx. 160 GtC or 29%).

Atmospheric Accumulation

The 2014 level of CO2 in the atmospheric was 43% above the level when the Industrial Revolution started in 1750.

Quick Links

GCP 2015 global carbon budget highlights (compact)

CDIAC Data for Global Carbon Project (all years) [2015 .xlxs]

CDIAC DATA: Global CO2 emissions 1751-2011 [files] [more]

ESSD Related articles & links

ESSD Le Quéré et al. | Global Carbon Budget 2015 [.pdf]

CO2 in Context Foley, 2020: 3 most important climate graphs [web]