Cumulative CO₂ emissions in Australia
Australia: Cumulative CO₂ emissions was 20.04 billion tonnes in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Cumulative CO₂ emissions in Australia, 1750–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for cumulative co₂ emissions in Australia is 20.04 billion tonnes, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 275 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 24.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cumulative co₂ emissions in Australia peaked at 20.04 billion tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0 tonnes, in 1750.
Australia ranks 17th of 215 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1750s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 10 |
| 1760s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 10 |
| 1770s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 10 |
| 1780s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 10 |
| 1790s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 10 |
| 1800s | 854.4 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 3,572 tonnes | 10 |
| 1810s | 16,263 tonnes | 4,831 tonnes | 28,027 tonnes | 10 |
| 1820s | 53,412 tonnes | 34,187 tonnes | 75,657 tonnes | 10 |
| 1830s | 141,259 tonnes | 81,405 tonnes | 243,422 tonnes | 10 |
| 1840s | 524,143 tonnes | 291,027 tonnes | 794,055 tonnes | 10 |
| 1850s | 1.75 million tonnes | 906,107 tonnes | 3.13 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1860s | 7.73 million tonnes | 3.73 million tonnes | 13.19 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1870s | 23.24 million tonnes | 14.59 million tonnes | 33.54 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1880s | 54.57 million tonnes | 35.95 million tonnes | 77.57 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1890s | 113.53 million tonnes | 83.02 million tonnes | 147.69 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1900s | 213.29 million tonnes | 157.86 million tonnes | 276.74 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1910s | 392.27 million tonnes | 294.44 million tonnes | 491.91 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1920s | 638.98 million tonnes | 518.22 million tonnes | 767.21 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1930s | 912.67 million tonnes | 793.11 million tonnes | 1.06 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.28 billion tonnes | 1.09 billion tonnes | 1.48 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.83 billion tonnes | 1.53 billion tonnes | 2.17 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.72 billion tonnes | 2.26 billion tonnes | 3.25 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.14 billion tonnes | 3.40 billion tonnes | 4.95 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.14 billion tonnes | 5.15 billion tonnes | 7.19 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.80 billion tonnes | 7.47 billion tonnes | 10.23 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.27 billion tonnes | 10.58 billion tonnes | 14.04 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.26 billion tonnes | 14.44 billion tonnes | 18.10 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.27 billion tonnes | 18.50 billion tonnes | 20.04 billion tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More climate change data for Australia
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.4% (2100)
- Population growth 1.5% (2025)
- Population, total 27.61 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.7% (2025)
- Urban population 24.22 million (2025)
- Urban population 87.7% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 14.48 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 14.48 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 14.48 tonnes per person (2024)
- Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population 1.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cumulative co₂ emissions in Australia?
- Cumulative co₂ emissions in Australia was 20.04 billion tonnes in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest cumulative co₂ emissions recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 20.04 billion tonnes in 2024.
- What is the lowest cumulative co₂ emissions recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 tonnes in 1750.
- How does Australia rank for cumulative co₂ emissions?
- Australia ranks 17th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cumulative co₂ emissions rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Cumulative CO₂ emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 275 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.