CO₂ emissions from transport in United States
United States: CO₂ emissions from transport was 1.67 billion tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
CO₂ emissions from transport in United States, 1990–2023
Source: Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for co₂ emissions from transport in United States is 1.67 billion tonnes, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, co₂ emissions from transport in United States peaked at 1.81 billion tonnes in 2005 and was at its lowest, 1.40 billion tonnes, in 1991.
United States ranks 1st of 191 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.53 billion tonnes | 1.40 billion tonnes | 1.69 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.75 billion tonnes | 1.62 billion tonnes | 1.81 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.69 billion tonnes | 1.60 billion tonnes | 1.76 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.64 billion tonnes | 1.51 billion tonnes | 1.70 billion tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More climate change data for United States
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 4.1% (2100)
- Population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Population, total 341.79 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Urban population 274.08 million (2025)
- Urban population 80.2% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 434.87 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is co₂ emissions from transport in United States?
- Co₂ emissions from transport in United States was 1.67 billion tonnes in 2023, according to Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest co₂ emissions from transport recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 1.81 billion tonnes in 2005.
- What is the lowest co₂ emissions from transport recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.40 billion tonnes in 1991.
- How does United States rank for co₂ emissions from transport?
- United States ranks 1st out of 191 countries with data for 2023.
- Is co₂ emissions from transport rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of CO₂ emissions from transport. 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
Emissions are measured in tonnes.