Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring in Iceland
Iceland: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring was 4.76 million tonnes in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring in Iceland, 1990–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2024, cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring in Iceland stood at 4.76 million tonnes. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.8% on the previous year and up 52.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring in Iceland peaked at 4.76 million tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 61,358 tonnes, in 1990.
That places Iceland 78th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring in Iceland, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 61,358 tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 131,308 tonnes | +114.0% |
| 1992 | 198,925 tonnes | +51.5% |
| 1993 | 284,303 tonnes | +42.9% |
| 1994 | 354,424 tonnes | +24.7% |
| 1995 | 436,660 tonnes | +23.2% |
| 1996 | 517,928 tonnes | +18.6% |
| 1997 | 584,780 tonnes | +12.9% |
| 1998 | 668,499 tonnes | +14.3% |
| 1999 | 779,774 tonnes | +16.6% |
| 2000 | 932,920 tonnes | +19.6% |
| 2001 | 1.08 million tonnes | +15.4% |
| 2002 | 1.22 million tonnes | +13.7% |
| 2003 | 1.36 million tonnes | +11.1% |
| 2004 | 1.48 million tonnes | +9.0% |
| 2005 | 1.60 million tonnes | +8.0% |
| 2006 | 1.73 million tonnes | +8.0% |
| 2007 | 1.88 million tonnes | +8.5% |
| 2008 | 2.06 million tonnes | +9.9% |
| 2009 | 2.23 million tonnes | +8.2% |
| 2010 | 2.42 million tonnes | +8.5% |
| 2011 | 2.60 million tonnes | +7.4% |
| 2012 | 2.77 million tonnes | +6.6% |
| 2013 | 2.95 million tonnes | +6.2% |
| 2014 | 3.13 million tonnes | +6.2% |
| 2015 | 3.29 million tonnes | +5.2% |
| 2016 | 3.44 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 2017 | 3.59 million tonnes | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 3.74 million tonnes | +4.4% |
| 2019 | 3.91 million tonnes | +4.4% |
| 2020 | 4.08 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 2021 | 4.25 million tonnes | +4.0% |
| 2022 | 4.42 million tonnes | +4.1% |
| 2023 | 4.59 million tonnes | +3.9% |
| 2024 | 4.76 million tonnes | +3.8% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 4.76 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.74 million tonnes, 1.7× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 4.76 million tonnes is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.26 million tonnes, 91% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring in Iceland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +114.0% | 61,358 tonnes | 131,308 tonnes |
| 1992 | +51.5% | 131,308 tonnes | 198,925 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 401,796 tonnes | 61,358 tonnes | 779,774 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.56 million tonnes | 932,920 tonnes | 2.23 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.18 million tonnes | 2.42 million tonnes | 3.91 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.42 million tonnes | 4.08 million tonnes | 4.76 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 75 Kyrgyzstan 5.56 million tonnes compare
- 76 Austria 4.97 million tonnes compare
- 77 Slovenia 4.89 million tonnes compare
- 79 Cote d'Ivoire 4.30 million tonnes compare
- 80 South Africa 4.21 million tonnes compare
- 81 Moldova 3.60 million tonnes compare
More climate change data for Iceland
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 16.80 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 462.45 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 110.24 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 352.21 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 0.416 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 12.58 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 92.86 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 92.86 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.3504 kt (2050)
- Synthetic Fertilizers — Emissions (CO2eq) 92.72 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring in Iceland?
- Cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring in Iceland was 4.76 million 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 flaring recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 4.76 million tonnes in 2024.
- What is the lowest cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 61,358 tonnes in 1990.
- How does Iceland rank for cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring?
- Iceland ranks 78th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 52.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Iceland 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 flaring. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from flaring since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.