2024 A New High For GHG Output: 53.2 Billion Tons Of CO2-Equivalent Released, Not Including Land/Forestry Activities

Human activities worldwide in 2024 sent a record 53.2 gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) emissions to the atmosphere, without counting emissions from land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF). It is a 1.3 per cent rise compared to the previous year (665Mt CO2eq - roughly the amount emitted by Germany in 2024), according to the latest data from the European Commission’s Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR). Over the same period, the EU’s GHG emissions, excluding LULUCF, shrank by 1.8 per cent, that is by close to 60 Mt CO2 eq. GHG emissions from China and the US remained relatively stable.

EDGAR findings are published in the JRC report ‘GHG emissions of all world countries’ compiled in cooperation with the International Energy Agency (IEA). The report presents trends from 1990 to 2024, together with emissions and removals from LULUCF and wildfires. It provides a factsheet for all the countries in the world and the EU, including sector-specific trends and trends per capita and GDP. The EDGAR report shows that global GHG emissions from anthropogenic activities have increased by nearly 1.5 per cent annually on average since 1990, and as a result are 65 per cent higher in 2024 than in 1990.

In 2024, the eight highest emitting economies - China, US, India, EU, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil and Japan - collectively contributed to 66.2 per cent of global GHG emissions. Only the European Union and Japan decreased their emissions compared to the previous year (-1.8 per cent and -2.8 per cent respectively), while all others either kept them rather stable (China: +0.8 per cent; US: +0.4 per cent; Brazil +0.2 per cent) or increased them (India: +3.9 per cent; Russia: +2.4 per cent, Indonesia: +5 per cent - the highest relative increase).

In absolute terms, India has the largest increase with 164.8 Mt CO2eq more emissions released in 2024 compared to 2023.

EDIT

https://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/sustainability-news/ghg-emissions-hit-record-high-in-2024-despite-declines-in-eu-japan-305164-newsdetails.htm

Link to EU study: https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/report_2024