Annual CO₂ emissions from flaring in China

China: Annual CO₂ emissions from flaring was 4.01 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
4.01 million tonnes
Change on year
down 10.7%
World rank
15th
of 215 countries
All-time high
5.59 million tonnes
in 2005
All-time low
791,421 tonnes
in 1971
Years of data
45
1971–2024

Annual CO₂ emissions from flaring in China, 1971–2024

1.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M6.0M1971199720241971: 791.4k tonnes1972: 1.0M tonnes1973: 1.3M tonnes1974: 1.6M tonnes1975: 1.9M tonnes1976: 1.9M tonnes1977: 2.2M tonnes1978: 2.7M tonnes1979: 3.1M tonnes1980: 3.0M tonnes1981: 2.7M tonnes1982: 2.5M tonnes1983: 2.7M tonnes1984: 3.2M tonnes1994: 3.7M tonnes1995: 3.7M tonnes1996: 5.6M tonnes1997: 5.4M tonnes1998: 4.1M tonnes1999: 4.4M tonnes2000: 4.7M tonnes2001: 4.8M tonnes2002: 4.5M tonnes2003: 5.2M tonnes2004: 5.2M tonnes2005: 5.6M tonnes2006: 5.5M tonnes2007: 5.0M tonnes2008: 4.7M tonnes2009: 4.6M tonnes2010: 4.0M tonnes2011: 3.9M tonnes2012: 3.7M tonnes2013: 3.6M tonnes2014: 3.9M tonnes2015: 3.9M tonnes2016: 3.1M tonnes2017: 3.0M tonnes2018: 3.4M tonnes2019: 3.8M tonnes2020: 5.2M tonnes2021: 4.8M tonnes2022: 4.7M tonnes2023: 4.5M tonnes2024: 4.0M tonnes

Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

China recorded 4.01 million tonnes for annual co₂ emissions from flaring in 2024.

The figure is down 10.7% on the previous year and up 2.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual co₂ emissions from flaring in China peaked at 5.59 million tonnes in 2005 and was at its lowest, 791,421 tonnes, in 1971.

That places China 15th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1.83 million tonnes 791,421 tonnes 3.06 million tonnes 9
1980s 2.82 million tonnes 2.52 million tonnes 3.21 million tonnes 5
1990s 4.51 million tonnes 3.73 million tonnes 5.58 million tonnes 6
2000s 4.97 million tonnes 4.49 million tonnes 5.59 million tonnes 10
2010s 3.63 million tonnes 2.97 million tonnes 3.97 million tonnes 10
2020s 4.63 million tonnes 4.01 million tonnes 5.17 million tonnes 5

Countries ranked near China

  1. 12 Mexico 10.76 million tonnes compare
  2. 13 Kazakhstan 9.91 million tonnes compare
  3. 14 Saudi Arabia 4.62 million tonnes compare
  4. 16 Angola 3.87 million tonnes compare
  5. 17 Oman 3.82 million tonnes compare
  6. 18 Congo 3.64 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 215 places →

More climate change data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual co₂ emissions from flaring in China?
Annual co₂ emissions from flaring in China was 4.01 million tonnes in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual co₂ emissions from flaring recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 5.59 million tonnes in 2005.
What is the lowest annual co₂ emissions from flaring recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 791,421 tonnes in 1971.
How does China rank for annual co₂ emissions from flaring?
China ranks 15th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
Is annual co₂ emissions from flaring rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual CO₂ emissions from flaring. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Annual CO₂ emissions from flaring
Unit
tonnes
Source
Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
215 places, 12,483 data points, 1750–2024
Last refreshed

Annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from flaring, measured in tonnes.