Cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal in United States
United States: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal was 176.02 billion tonnes in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal in United States, 1800–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2024, cumulative co₂ emissions from coal in United States stood at 176.02 billion tonnes. That is the highest value across all 225 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cumulative co₂ emissions from coal in United States peaked at 176.02 billion tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 252,816 tonnes, in 1800.
United States ranks 2nd of 179 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1800s | 1.67 million tonnes | 252,816 tonnes | 3.29 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1810s | 6.21 million tonnes | 3.70 million tonnes | 9.24 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1820s | 14.74 million tonnes | 10.03 million tonnes | 20.93 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1830s | 39.17 million tonnes | 23.02 million tonnes | 60.12 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1840s | 108.52 million tonnes | 65.99 million tonnes | 170.18 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1850s | 334.86 million tonnes | 189.97 million tonnes | 510.94 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1860s | 806.59 million tonnes | 558.18 million tonnes | 1.12 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1870s | 1.78 billion tonnes | 1.22 billion tonnes | 2.42 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1880s | 3.71 billion tonnes | 2.61 billion tonnes | 5.00 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1890s | 7.32 billion tonnes | 5.37 billion tonnes | 9.50 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1900s | 13.87 billion tonnes | 10.13 billion tonnes | 18.20 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1910s | 25.01 billion tonnes | 19.36 billion tonnes | 31.06 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1920s | 38.37 billion tonnes | 32.52 billion tonnes | 44.53 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1930s | 50.13 billion tonnes | 45.77 billion tonnes | 54.68 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1940s | 62.20 billion tonnes | 55.85 billion tonnes | 68.29 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1950s | 74.31 billion tonnes | 69.54 billion tonnes | 78.73 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1960s | 84.19 billion tonnes | 79.65 billion tonnes | 89.17 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1970s | 95.68 billion tonnes | 90.34 billion tonnes | 101.39 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 109.67 billion tonnes | 102.82 billion tonnes | 117.04 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 127.16 billion tonnes | 118.82 billion tonnes | 135.92 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 147.43 billion tonnes | 138.04 billion tonnes | 156.69 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 165.76 billion tonnes | 158.63 billion tonnes | 171.78 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 174.42 billion tonnes | 172.63 billion tonnes | 176.02 billion tonnes | 5 |
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 cumulative co₂ emissions from coal in United States?
- Cumulative co₂ emissions from coal in United States was 176.02 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 from coal recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 176.02 billion tonnes in 2024.
- What is the lowest cumulative co₂ emissions from coal recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 252,816 tonnes in 1800.
- How does United States rank for cumulative co₂ emissions from coal?
- United States ranks 2nd out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cumulative co₂ emissions from coal rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this United States 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 from coal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 225 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.