Food Processing — Emissions (CO2eq) in Northern America

Northern America: Food Processing — Emissions (CO2eq) was 126,596 kt in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
126,596 kt
Change on year
down 0.0%
Rank
6th
of 32 groups
All-time high
134,824 kt
in 2008
All-time low
51,881 kt
in 1994
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Food Processing — Emissions (CO2eq) in Northern America, 1990–2023

050.0k100.0k150.0k1990200620231990: 67.3k kt1991: 71.1k kt1992: 58.3k kt1993: 52.8k kt1994: 51.9k kt1995: 96.4k kt1996: 97.5k kt1997: 110.0k kt1998: 108.9k kt1999: 108.8k kt2000: 117.9k kt2001: 126.6k kt2002: 118.4k kt2003: 122.3k kt2004: 125.2k kt2005: 127.6k kt2006: 134.6k kt2007: 132.7k kt2008: 134.8k kt2009: 124.9k kt2010: 127.6k kt2011: 118.3k kt2012: 114.7k kt2013: 117.7k kt2014: 119.6k kt2015: 113.8k kt2016: 119.8k kt2017: 117.8k kt2018: 119.8k kt2019: 112.9k kt2020: 115.6k kt2021: 127.5k kt2022: 126.6k kt2023: 126.6k kt

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for food processing — emissions (co2eq) in Northern America is 126,596 kt, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of up 7.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, food processing — emissions (co2eq) in Northern America peaked at 134,824 kt in 2008 and was at its lowest, 51,881 kt, in 1994.

Northern America ranks 6th of 32 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Food Processing — Emissions (CO2eq) in Northern America, year by year

Annual values for Food Processing — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) in Northern America, 1990 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1990 67,340 kt —
1991 71,093 kt +5.6%
1992 58,300 kt -18.0%
1993 52,751 kt -9.5%
1994 51,881 kt -1.7%
1995 96,435 kt +85.9%
1996 97,509 kt +1.1%
1997 109,962 kt +12.8%
1998 108,872 kt -1.0%
1999 108,767 kt -0.1%
2000 117,917 kt +8.4%
2001 126,566 kt +7.3%
2002 118,361 kt -6.5%
2003 122,292 kt +3.3%
2004 125,192 kt +2.4%
2005 127,565 kt +1.9%
2006 134,602 kt +5.5%
2007 132,663 kt -1.4%
2008 134,824 kt +1.6%
2009 124,874 kt -7.4%
2010 127,556 kt +2.1%
2011 118,333 kt -7.2%
2012 114,711 kt -3.1%
2013 117,664 kt +2.6%
2014 119,569 kt +1.6%
2015 113,810 kt -4.8%
2016 119,837 kt +5.3%
2017 117,839 kt -1.7%
2018 119,850 kt +1.7%
2019 112,852 kt -5.8%
2020 115,578 kt +2.4%
2021 127,452 kt +10.3%
2022 126,597 kt -0.7%
2023 126,596 kt -0.0%

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Food Processing — Emissions (CO2eq) in Northern America 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.

YearChange FromTo
1995 +85.9% 51,881 kt 96,435 kt

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 82,291 kt 51,881 kt 109,962 kt 10
2000s 126,486 kt 117,917 kt 134,824 kt 10
2010s 118,202 kt 112,852 kt 127,556 kt 10
2020s 124,056 kt 115,578 kt 127,452 kt 4

Countries ranked near Northern America

  1. 3 China, mainland 85,327 kt compare
  2. 4 Russian Federation 36,971 kt compare
  3. 5 Republic of Moldova 306.2 kt compare
  4. 5 Thailand 26,449 kt compare
  5. 6 Brazil 19,972 kt compare
  6. 7 Japan 19,795 kt compare
  7. 7 Viet Nam 88.93 kt compare
  8. 8 Germany 17,142 kt compare
  9. 8 Polynesia 77.04 kt compare
  10. 9 Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.0983 kt compare
  11. 9 Australia and New Zealand 16,641 kt compare

See the full ranking of 148 places →

More climate change data for Northern America

All data for Northern America →

Frequently asked questions

What is food processing — emissions (co2eq) in Northern America?
Food processing — emissions (co2eq) in Northern America was 126,596 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest food processing — emissions (co2eq) recorded in Northern America?
The highest recorded value was 134,824 kt in 2008.
What is the lowest food processing — emissions (co2eq) recorded in Northern America?
The lowest recorded value was 51,881 kt in 1994.
How does Northern America rank for food processing — emissions (co2eq)?
Northern America ranks 6th out of 32 groups with data for 2023.
Is food processing — emissions (co2eq) rising or falling in Northern America?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
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 Processing — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Food Processing — Emissions (CO2eq) in Northern America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/food-processing-emissions-co2eq-ar5/northern-america/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/food-processing-emissions-co2eq-ar5/northern-america/">Food Processing — Emissions (CO2eq) in Northern America</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Food Processing — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
148 places, 4,038 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Pre- and post- agricultural production includes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and related activity data, generated from pre- and post-agriculture production stages of the agri-food 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). The domain includes methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) emissions from the above activities as well as the aggregate fluorinated gases (F-gases) emissions. Estimates are available by country, with global coverage and are updated annually.The FAOSTAT domain disseminates information estimates of CH4, N2O, CO2 emissions, F-gases, their aggregates in CO2eq in units of kilotonnes (kt, or 10^6 kg), and the underlying activity data. CO2eq emissions are computed by using the IPCC Fifth Assessment report global warming potentials, AR5 (IPCC, 2014). Data are available for most countries and territories, for standard FAOSTAT regional aggregations, and for Annex I and non-Annex I country groups.