Greenhouse gas emissions by sector in United States
United States: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector was 36.88 million tonnes in 2023. ▼ Falling
Greenhouse gas emissions by sector in United States, 1990–2023
Source: Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
United States recorded 36.88 million tonnes for greenhouse gas emissions by sector in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of down 6.5% on the previous year and down 27.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, greenhouse gas emissions by sector in United States peaked at 69.22 million tonnes in 1990 and was at its lowest, 36.88 million tonnes, in 2023.
United States ranks 3rd of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 50.51 million tonnes | 41.69 million tonnes | 69.22 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 52.23 million tonnes | 44.80 million tonnes | 60.53 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.59 million tonnes | 39.95 million tonnes | 52.16 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.95 million tonnes | 36.88 million tonnes | 39.44 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More climate change data for United States
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 4.1% (2100)
- Population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Population, total 341.79 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Urban population 274.08 million (2025)
- Urban population 80.2% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 434.87 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is greenhouse gas emissions by sector in United States?
- Greenhouse gas emissions by sector in United States was 36.88 million tonnes in 2023, according to Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest greenhouse gas emissions by sector recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 69.22 million tonnes in 1990.
- What is the lowest greenhouse gas emissions by sector recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.88 million tonnes in 2023.
- How does United States rank for greenhouse gas emissions by sector?
- United States ranks 3rd out of 176 countries with data for 2023.
- Is greenhouse gas emissions by sector rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Greenhouse gas emissions by sector. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 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.