World emissions hit record high, but the EU leads trend reversal

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% 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%, 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.

Human-made emissions over time around the globe

The EDGAR report shows that global GHG emissions from anthropogenic activities have increased by nearly 1.5% annually on average since 1990, and as a result are 65% higher in 2024 than in 1990.

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

Nevertheless, all major emitters reduced their emission intensity in terms of GHG emissions per unit of GDP.

The EU has continued its decades-long decreasing trend of GHG emissions, briefly interrupted only in 2021 by the post-COVID rebound. On a longer perspective, data for the EU show the most significant percentage decrease of GHG among the top emitting economies since 1990, while GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP) grew steadily in the same period (see Figure 2).

Beyond the EU, other major economies also show signs of decoupling emissions from economic growth. While GDP PPP has grown strongly in all regions since 1990, the pace of emissions growth has been lower, leading to declining emission intensity.

The USA, Russia and Japan have gone further, achieving absolute decoupling: in 2024 their GDP PPP was significantly higher than in 1990, while their GHG emissions were lower.

By contrast, India and China experienced rapid GDP PPP growth accompanied by rising emissions, although at a slower rate than GDP PPP. These contrasting trajectories underline that while absolute decoupling remains challenging, it is already a reality in several major economies.

China, the US, India, the EU, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil and Japan were the eight largest GHG emitters in 2024, according to the report. Together they account for 54.6% of the global population, 68.3% of the global GDP PPP, 68.3% of the global primary energy consumption of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), and 66.2% of the global GHG emissions.

Only five of the 18 countries and regions that contribute more than 1% to the total global GHG emissions reduced their GHG emissions in 2024: the EU27, Japan, Mexico, Germany, and South Korea.

World GHG emissions by sector

According to the report, the power industry emissions showed the largest absolute increase (+235 Mt CO2eq or +1.5%) in 2024 as compared to 2023, whereas the fuel exploitation the largest relative increase (+1.6%). All other main economic activity sectors also increased their emissions or remained stable: industrial combustion and processes, buildings, transport, agriculture, and waste.

The role of land use and forests

Atmospheric CO2 can accumulate as carbon in vegetation and soils, which act as sinks. Human activities have an impact on these sinks through the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector.

The EDGAR report provides estimates of GHG emissions from LULUCF: globally, this sector removed about 1.3 Gt CO2eq in 2024, excluding wildfires, which is equivalent to 2.4% of 2024 global GHG emissions. When including wildfires, the LULUCF sector results in a source of 0.9 Gt CO2eq.

This net flux reflects the balance between much larger removals, mostly from managed forests (about 5.5 Gt of CO2 in 2024, equal to 13.9% of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions excluding LULUCF), and emissions, primarily from deforestation (about 3.7 Gt CO2, approximately 9.3% of the same figure).

Wildfires contributed with 2.1 Gt CO2eq emissions, with significant contribution from Canada, Brazil, and Bolivia. This does not include forest fires in tropical regions, which are mostly associated with deforestation practices and thus are counted in this category.

The contribution of organic soils remained stable in 2024, emitting about 1.1 Gt CO2.

Background

Most countries around the world are preparing plans and implementing actions to tackle climate change. The EU has set its own ambitious objectives through policies and legislation such as the European Green Deal and the European Climate Law. These include reducing by at least 55% its net domestic GHG emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and becoming climate neutral (net zero GHG) by 2050.

In July 2025, the Commission published a Communication on the EU's climate target for 2040, an intermediate step on the path to climate neutrality in 2050, as required by the European Climate Law. One key element is the flexibility that the Commission will consider in designing the future legislative instruments to reduce the EU's greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 relative to 1990.

The report provides country fiches with the time series of GHG emissions from all anthropogenic activities, while LULUCF emissions and removals are displayed for world macro-regions. An IPCC-based bottom-up emission calculation methodology is applied to all countries, demonstrating that consistent inventories can be developed at the global level within the limitations of the quality of the available statistical data.

The time series of EDGAR, available for all countries and for all anthropogenic sectors from 1970 until 2024 (including LULUCF from 1990), provides emissions trend information for all countries of the world, resulting in a consistent and complete view of global, regional and national GHG emission trends, updated with the latest available data sources. The EDGAR data represent a unique global GHG emission inventory regularly published annually and providing estimates up to the most recent year for all countries and sectors.

Managed by JRC scientists, EDGAR data complement - but do not substitute - national inventories of GHG emissions. The national inventories are mandatory for reporting to the UN and tracking progress on emissions reduction under the Paris Agreement. EDGAR has the advantage of producing estimates comparable across countries, providing also data on countries with lower quality of inventories or no recent inventories.

EU countries are required to monitor their emissions under reporting rules based on internationally agreed obligations in line with guidelines from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The reporting covers emissions of greenhouse gases from all sectors: energy, industrial processes, land use, land-use change & forestry, waste, agriculture, etc. As parties to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, the EU and Member States report annually on their greenhouse gas emissions to the UN.

The report is complemented with a detailed dataset, available to the scientific community and to policy makers. Thanks to their transparency, completeness and high level of detail, EDGAR data are also being used by an ever-increasing pool of researchers, policy makers and engaged citizens as a reliable source of information on climate-relevant emissions. EDGAR data are also regularly presented at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties and used in the yearly UNEP Emissions Gap Report.

Related links

JRC report: GHG emissions of all world countries