Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade in China
China: Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade was -10.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade in China, 1990–2023
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade in China stood at -10.8%.
The figure is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 18.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade in China peaked at -2.7% in 1992 and was at its lowest, -21.9%, in 2006.
That places China 106th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | -4.9% | — |
| 1991 | -6.2% | +24.5% |
| 1992 | -2.7% | -56.5% |
| 1993 | -3.6% | +33.6% |
| 1994 | -9.8% | +172.9% |
| 1995 | -9.4% | -3.8% |
| 1996 | -9.7% | +3.5% |
| 1997 | -11.8% | +21.0% |
| 1998 | -10.7% | -9.2% |
| 1999 | -10.1% | -5.3% |
| 2000 | -11.2% | +10.8% |
| 2001 | -10.6% | -5.7% |
| 2002 | -11.7% | +10.7% |
| 2003 | -16.9% | +44.5% |
| 2004 | -18.4% | +8.8% |
| 2005 | -21.0% | +14.4% |
| 2006 | -21.9% | +4.4% |
| 2007 | -21.6% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | -21.4% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | -15.6% | -27.2% |
| 2010 | -15.7% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | -15.4% | -1.9% |
| 2012 | -14.6% | -5.1% |
| 2013 | -13.2% | -9.3% |
| 2014 | -12.6% | -4.8% |
| 2015 | -10.8% | -13.9% |
| 2016 | -11.0% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | -10.4% | -5.5% |
| 2018 | -8.7% | -16.3% |
| 2019 | -8.8% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | -10.1% | +14.0% |
| 2021 | -10.6% | +5.3% |
| 2022 | -11.0% | +3.5% |
| 2023 | -10.8% | -1.5% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's -10.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 13.8%. (32 countries reporting)
- China's -10.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 9.6%. (16 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade in China 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | -172.9% | -3.6% | -9.8% |
| 1992 | +56.5% | -6.2% | -2.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -7.9% | -11.8% | -2.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | -17.0% | -21.9% | -10.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | -12.1% | -15.7% | -8.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | -10.6% | -11.0% | -10.1% | 4 |
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 share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade in China?
- Share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade in China was -10.8% in 2023, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was -2.7% in 1992.
- What is the lowest share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was -21.9% in 2006.
- How does China rank for share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade?
- China ranks 106th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade. 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
Annual net carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions embedded in trade, measured as a percentage of emissions of CO₂.