CO₂ emissions embedded in trade in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: CO₂ emissions embedded in trade was 179.27 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
179.27 million tonnes
Change on year
down 6.5%
World rank
2nd
of 120 countries
All-time high
205.41 million tonnes
in 2007
All-time low
64.06 million tonnes
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

CO₂ emissions embedded in trade in United Kingdom, 1990–2023

50.0M100.0M150.0M200.0M1990200620231990: 64.1M tonnes1991: 67.6M tonnes1992: 108.0M tonnes1993: 80.8M tonnes1994: 77.2M tonnes1995: 81.6M tonnes1996: 87.0M tonnes1997: 98.6M tonnes1998: 123.4M tonnes1999: 127.0M tonnes2000: 170.1M tonnes2001: 151.5M tonnes2002: 174.6M tonnes2003: 191.4M tonnes2004: 201.2M tonnes2005: 195.5M tonnes2006: 199.0M tonnes2007: 205.4M tonnes2008: 186.6M tonnes2009: 147.7M tonnes2010: 175.0M tonnes2011: 156.9M tonnes2012: 153.1M tonnes2013: 147.2M tonnes2014: 166.1M tonnes2015: 174.5M tonnes2016: 183.3M tonnes2017: 171.0M tonnes2018: 165.5M tonnes2019: 160.0M tonnes2020: 143.6M tonnes2021: 175.2M tonnes2022: 191.7M tonnes2023: 179.3M tonnes

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

Analysis

United Kingdom recorded 179.27 million tonnes for co₂ emissions embedded in trade in 2023.

The figure is down 6.5% on the previous year and up 21.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, co₂ emissions embedded in trade in United Kingdom peaked at 205.41 million tonnes in 2007 and was at its lowest, 64.06 million tonnes, in 1990.

United Kingdom ranks 2nd of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 91.52 million tonnes 64.06 million tonnes 126.95 million tonnes 10
2000s 182.30 million tonnes 147.72 million tonnes 205.41 million tonnes 10
2010s 165.26 million tonnes 147.20 million tonnes 183.32 million tonnes 10
2020s 172.45 million tonnes 143.63 million tonnes 191.65 million tonnes 4

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 1 United States 513.25 million tonnes compare
  2. 3 Germany 174.72 million tonnes compare
  3. 4 Japan 155.39 million tonnes compare
  4. 5 France 137.10 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More climate change data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is co₂ emissions embedded in trade in United Kingdom?
Co₂ emissions embedded in trade in United Kingdom was 179.27 million tonnes in 2023, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest co₂ emissions embedded in trade recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 205.41 million tonnes in 2007.
What is the lowest co₂ emissions embedded in trade recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 64.06 million tonnes in 1990.
How does United Kingdom rank for co₂ emissions embedded in trade?
United Kingdom ranks 2nd out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
Is co₂ emissions embedded in trade rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
CO₂ emissions embedded in trade
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
120 places, 4,063 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Annual net carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions embedded in trade, measured in tonnes.