Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in China
China: Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems was 2.42 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2015. ▲ Rising
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.
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
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 6.2% (2100)
- Population growth -0.2% (2025)
- Population, total 1.41 billion (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Urban population 933.17 million (2025)
- Urban population 66.3% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 285.09 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
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.