Frequently Asked Questions A greenhouse gas (GHG) is any gaseous compound that is capable of absorbing and emitting infrared radiation, thereby allowing less heat to escape back to space, and 'trapping' it in the lower atmosphere. The major greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2) , methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and ozone (O3). Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions by Country CO2 Emissions by Sector CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuel for the following uses: Power Industry - Electricity production comes mostly from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas. Greenhouse gas emissions from industry primarily come from burning fossil fuels for energy. Industrial Combustion - From manufacturing. Waste - Solid waste disposed on land, solid waste composted and hazardous solid waste processing/storage, waste water handling, waste incineration. Fuel Exploitation - Fuel extraction, transformation and refineries activities, including venting and flaring. Industrial Processes - Non-metallic minerals, non-ferrous metals, solvents and other product use, chemicals, etc. Transportation - From burning fossil fuel for cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Agriculture - Agriculture livestock (enteric fermentation, manure management), agriculture soils (fertilisers, lime application, rice cultivation, direct soil emissions, indirect N2O emissions from agriculture), field burning of agricultural residues. Buildings - Commercial and residential. Greenhouse gas emissions from businesses and homes arise primarily from fossil fuels burned for heat, the use of certain products that contain greenhouse gases, and the handling of waste.

Excluded are: short-cycle biomass burning (such as agricultural waste burning), large-scale biomass burning (such as forest fires) and carbon emissions/removals of land-use, land-use change and forestry. International Transport Emissions International aviation and shipping emissions are not attributed to any individual country. Co2 Emission Trends Global Fossil CO2 emissions were 39,632,664,219 tons in 2024. CO2 emissions increased by 1.3% over the previous year, representing an increase by 519,975,428 tons over 2023, when CO2 emissions were 39,112,688,790 tons. CO2 emissions per capita worldwide are equivalent to 4.89 tons per person, an increase by 0.02 over the figure of 4.87 CO2 tons per person registered in 2023; this represents a change of 0.4% in CO2 emissions per capita. Global Fossil CO2 emissions by Year Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions - all GHGs including CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, and F-gases CO2 Emissions by Country CO2 Emissions by Year CO2 Emissions per Capita Crippa M., Guizzardi D., Pagani F., Banja M., Muntean M., et al., GHG emissions of all world countries – JRC/IEA 2025 Report, European Commission, 2025. DOI . Data: EDGAR_2025_GHG . CO2 emissions from fuel combustion based on IEA (2024) Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy, as modified by the Joint Research Centre (IEA-EDGAR CO2, v4).