Food Packaging — Emissions in Northern America

Northern America: Food Packaging — Emissions was 25,049 kt in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
25,049 kt
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
7th
of 31 groups
All-time high
55,167 kt
in 1997
All-time low
21,973 kt
in 2020
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Food Packaging — Emissions in Northern America, 1990–2023

020.0k40.0k60.0k1990200620231990: 40.8k kt1991: 48.0k kt1992: 40.3k kt1993: 38.5k kt1994: 36.6k kt1995: 53.2k kt1996: 53.3k kt1997: 55.2k kt1998: 46.0k kt1999: 44.0k kt2000: 47.0k kt2001: 46.0k kt2002: 35.6k kt2003: 35.8k kt2004: 35.3k kt2005: 34.8k kt2006: 33.6k kt2007: 36.5k kt2008: 35.6k kt2009: 30.0k kt2010: 31.0k kt2011: 29.4k kt2012: 27.7k kt2013: 26.8k kt2014: 28.8k kt2015: 28.0k kt2016: 27.3k kt2017: 24.0k kt2018: 23.0k kt2019: 22.4k kt2020: 22.0k kt2021: 24.3k kt2022: 25.0k kt2023: 25.0k kt

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.

Analysis

Northern America recorded 25,049 kt for food packaging — emissions in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, food packaging — emissions in Northern America peaked at 55,167 kt in 1997 and was at its lowest, 21,973 kt, in 2020.

Northern America ranks 7th of 31 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Food Packaging — Emissions in Northern America, year by year

Annual values for Food Packaging — Emissions (CO2) in Northern America, 1990 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1990 40,763 kt
1991 48,001 kt +17.8%
1992 40,340 kt -16.0%
1993 38,477 kt -4.6%
1994 36,595 kt -4.9%
1995 53,155 kt +45.3%
1996 53,300 kt +0.3%
1997 55,167 kt +3.5%
1998 46,025 kt -16.6%
1999 44,043 kt -4.3%
2000 46,999 kt +6.7%
2001 45,991 kt -2.1%
2002 35,618 kt -22.6%
2003 35,769 kt +0.4%
2004 35,338 kt -1.2%
2005 34,789 kt -1.6%
2006 33,572 kt -3.5%
2007 36,523 kt +8.8%
2008 35,611 kt -2.5%
2009 29,978 kt -15.8%
2010 30,995 kt +3.4%
2011 29,440 kt -5.0%
2012 27,694 kt -5.9%
2013 26,763 kt -3.4%
2014 28,824 kt +7.7%
2015 28,031 kt -2.8%
2016 27,297 kt -2.6%
2017 23,999 kt -12.1%
2018 23,023 kt -4.1%
2019 22,428 kt -2.6%
2020 21,973 kt -2.0%
2021 24,260 kt +10.4%
2022 25,049 kt +3.3%
2023 25,049 kt +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 45,586 kt 36,595 kt 55,167 kt 10
2000s 37,019 kt 29,978 kt 46,999 kt 10
2010s 26,849 kt 22,428 kt 30,995 kt 10
2020s 24,083 kt 21,973 kt 25,049 kt 4

Countries ranked near Northern America

  1. 4 Russian Federation 12,362 kt compare
  2. 5 Japan 7,223 kt compare
  3. 6 Germany 5,271 kt compare
  4. 7 Brazil 5,251 kt compare
  5. 8 South Africa 4,499 kt compare
  6. 9 Australia and New Zealand 4,281 kt compare
  7. 10 Australia 4,158 kt compare

See the full ranking of 167 places →

More climate change data for Northern America

All data for Northern America →

Frequently asked questions

What is food packaging — emissions in Northern America?
Food packaging — emissions in Northern America was 25,049 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest food packaging — emissions recorded in Northern America?
The highest recorded value was 55,167 kt in 1997.
What is the lowest food packaging — emissions recorded in Northern America?
The lowest recorded value was 21,973 kt in 2020.
How does Northern America rank for food packaging — emissions?
Northern America ranks 7th out of 31 groups with data for 2023.
Is food packaging — emissions rising or falling in Northern America?
Over the last ten years it is down 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Northern America data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Food Packaging — Emissions (CO2). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Food Packaging — Emissions in Northern America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/food-packaging-emissions-co2-fao-tier-1/northern-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Food Packaging — Emissions (CO2)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
167 places, 5,005 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions Totals summarizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disseminated in the FAOSTAT Climate Change domains of emissions from agrifood systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). Emissions from other economic sectors as defined by the IPCC are also disseminated in the domain for completeness. Methodological details can be found at: https://files-faostat.fao.org/production/GT/GT_en.pdf