Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in China
China: Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems was 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2015. ▲ Rising
Latest (2015)
2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
1st
of 217 countries
All-time high
2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e
in 2015
All-time low
1.67 billion tonnes CO₂e
in 2000
Years of data
26
1990–2015
Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in China, 1990–2015
Source: Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes CO₂e.
Analysis
China recorded 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e for greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in 2015. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 16.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in China peaked at 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2015 and was at its lowest, 1.67 billion tonnes CO₂e, in 2000.
That places China 1st out of 217 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in China, year by year
| Year | tonnes CO₂e | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.68 billion tonnes CO₂e | — |
| 1991 | 1.69 billion tonnes CO₂e | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 1.68 billion tonnes CO₂e | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 1.67 billion tonnes CO₂e | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 1.70 billion tonnes CO₂e | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 1.83 billion tonnes CO₂e | +7.2% |
| 1996 | 1.76 billion tonnes CO₂e | -3.6% |
| 1997 | 1.77 billion tonnes CO₂e | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 1.79 billion tonnes CO₂e | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 1.77 billion tonnes CO₂e | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 1.67 billion tonnes CO₂e | -5.7% |
| 2001 | 1.68 billion tonnes CO₂e | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 1.71 billion tonnes CO₂e | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 1.78 billion tonnes CO₂e | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 1.97 billion tonnes CO₂e | +10.7% |
| 2005 | 2.07 billion tonnes CO₂e | +5.3% |
| 2006 | 2.14 billion tonnes CO₂e | +3.6% |
| 2007 | 2.20 billion tonnes CO₂e | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 2.23 billion tonnes CO₂e | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 2.29 billion tonnes CO₂e | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 2.29 billion tonnes CO₂e | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 2.37 billion tonnes CO₂e | +3.3% |
| 2012 | 2.37 billion tonnes CO₂e | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 2.41 billion tonnes CO₂e | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e | +0.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 18.12 million tonnes CO₂e, 133.5× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- China's 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.71 million tonnes CO₂e, 423.8× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.73 billion tonnes CO₂e | 1.67 billion tonnes CO₂e | 1.83 billion tonnes CO₂e | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.97 billion tonnes CO₂e | 1.67 billion tonnes CO₂e | 2.29 billion tonnes CO₂e | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.38 billion tonnes CO₂e | 2.29 billion tonnes CO₂e | 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More climate change data for China
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 31.25 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 604,831 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 191,478 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 413,353 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 722.56 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 14,763 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 342,069 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 200,605 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 141,464 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 757 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in China?
- Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in China was 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2015, according to Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest greenhouse gas emissions from food systems recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2015.
- What is the lowest greenhouse gas emissions from food systems recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.67 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2000.
- How does China rank for greenhouse gas emissions from food systems?
- China ranks 1st out of 217 countries with data for 2015.
- Is greenhouse gas emissions from food systems rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents.