Greenhouse gas emissions in China
China: Greenhouse gas emissions was 14.11 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
14.11 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
1st
of 199 countries
All-time high
14.11 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
All-time low
247.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1875
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Greenhouse gas emissions in China, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
Analysis
China recorded 14.11 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents for greenhouse gas emissions in 2024. That is the highest value across all 175 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 20.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, greenhouse gas emissions in China peaked at 14.11 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024 and was at its lowest, 247.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, in 1875.
That places China 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 392.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 362.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 423.50 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1860s | 295.53 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 249.43 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 349.53 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1870s | 254.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 247.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 263.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1880s | 312.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 275.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 342.47 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1890s | 394.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 363.68 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 424.83 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1900s | 497.23 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 444.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 554.98 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1910s | 632.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 570.39 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 684.18 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1920s | 685.34 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 665.64 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 711.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1930s | 841.67 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 754.98 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 912.75 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.04 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 977.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.08 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.51 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.34 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.71 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.88 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.64 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.40 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.92 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.29 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.71 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.56 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.10 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.14 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.88 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.21 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.36 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.27 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.28 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 9.64 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.55 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.31 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 12.32 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.39 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 12.52 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.11 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More climate change data for China
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 6.2% (2100)
- Population growth -0.2% (2025)
- Population, total 1.41 billion (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Urban population 933.17 million (2025)
- Urban population 66.3% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 285.09 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is greenhouse gas emissions in China?
- Greenhouse gas emissions in China was 14.11 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest greenhouse gas emissions recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 14.11 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024.
- What is the lowest greenhouse gas emissions recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 247.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1875.
- How does China rank for greenhouse gas emissions?
- China ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Greenhouse gas emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 175 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.