Share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food in United States
United States: Share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food was 8.2% in 2015. ▲ Rising
Share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food in United States, 1990–2015
Source: Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food in United States is 8.2%, measured in 2015.
The figure is down 2.3% on the previous year and down 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food in United States peaked at 9.7% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 7.4%, in 1990.
That places United States 3rd 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 | 7.8% | 7.4% | 8.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.8% | 8.4% | 9.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.5% | 8.2% | 9.0% | 6 |
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 share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food in United States?
- Share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food in United States was 8.2% in 2015, according to Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 9.7% in 2007.
- What is the lowest share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.4% in 1990.
- How does United States rank for share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food?
- United States ranks 3rd out of 217 countries with data for 2015.
- Is share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food. 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
Food system emissions include agriculture, land-use change, and supply chain emissions (transport, packaging, food processing, retail, cooking, and waste). Emissions are quantified based on food production, not consumption. This means they do not account for international trade.