CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion: Overview
An essential tool for analysts and policy makers
Cite report
IEA (2020), CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion: Overview, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/co2-emissions-from-fuel-combustion-overview
In this report
Data service
The CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2020 data service contains annual CO2 emissions from fuel combustion and related indicators for 160 countries plus regional aggregates. Emissions were calculated using IEA energy databases and the default methods and emission factors given in the 2006 GLs for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. This edition includes annual data for 190 countries/regions, generally from 1960 (OECD) and from 1971 (Non-OECD), unless specified differently at the country level.
Overview
CO2 emissions from fuel combustion are affected by a range of drivers, including population growth, GDP and energy supply. CO2 emissions from electricity generation, around 40% of the total, are driven by electricity output, generation efficiency, share and carbon intensity of fossil fuel generation. Explore how these factors have affected emissions across a range of countries and regions in our interactive below:
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Global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion reached a historical high of 33.5 GtCO2 in 2018 driven by a robust growth in population and economic activity, while exhibited a slight decline (less than 1%) in 2019, mainly due the power sector in advanced economies and milder weather conditions across continents.
CO2 emissions from fuel combustion in selected economies, 2000-2019
OpenSimilar to the past several years, the emissions growth in 2018 was largely driven by non-OECD countries, led by China and India. Additionally, the United States experienced an increase of over 3%, reversing the declining trend since 2015; while the European Union emissions and Japan continued to decline. Provisional data for 2019 show opposing trends across geographies, with a decline in emissions in advanced economies, including top emitters such as the United States, Germany and Japan; a continued increase in China; and stable levels in India.
Change in CO2 emissions for top emitters, 2018-2019
OpenPower generation (which refers to generation of electricity and heat), together with transport, accounted for over two thirds of total emissions in 2018 and were responsible for almost the entire global growth since 2010. The remaining third was mainly associated with the industry and buildings sectors. Considerable shares of the energy use in buildings took place in OECD countries, while Asia was responsible for the majority of industry consumption.
After allocating electricity and heat emissions across final sectors, industry was the largest emitting sector, accounting for almost 40% of global emissions in 2018, while the buildings and transport sectors corresponded to over a quarter each. The buildings sector used about half of the electricity consumed globally, and industry over 40%. The transport sector, not yet visibly electrified, used less than 2% of global electricity.