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Global Greenhouse Gas Data

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Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are affected by the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted to and removed from the atmosphere around the world over time. Figure 1 shows a breakdown of global greenhouse gas emissions by each gas.

Figure 1: Global greenhouse gas emissions, 2000. This pie chart shows the breakdown of global greenhouse gas emissions by gas. CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement manufacturing account for 55 percent of the total. CO2 emissions from land use change and forestry account for another 19 percent. Methane emissions account for 16 percent of the total, nitrous oxide accounts for 9 percent, and the high-global-warming-potential gases (such as sulfur hexafluoride) account for 1 percent.
Reference: EPA, Methane to Markets Partnership Fact Sheet Brochure. (PDF, 2 pp., 72 KB, About PDF)

Figure 2 presents data on the major global sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by country, from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to the present.

Figure 2: Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning, cement manufacture, and gas flaring, 1751-2002. This graph shows combined emissions from all countries from 1751 to 2002, showing a sharp increase since the late 1800s.
Reference: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center

Subscribers to the World Resources Institute's Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) Exit EPA Disclaimer can draw on existing greenhouse gas data to generate breakdowns of global emissions by year, country, source and greenhouse gas. In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change synthesizes existing scientific data on global fluxes of greenhouse gas emissions and removals in its assessment reports Exit EPA Disclaimer. These reports provide global data by gas and by type of emission pathway (e.g., general type of source or sink), and include both human and natural emissions.

Figure 3 provides a projection of future greenhouse gas emissions of developed and developing countries. Total emissions from the developing world are expected to exceed those from the developed world by 2015.

Figure 3: Projection of future greenhouse gas emissions of developed and developing countries. This figure shows emissions from developing countries intersecting with (and subsequently surpassing) those of industrialized countries around the year 2015.
Reference: (1) SGM Energy Modeling Forum EMF-21 Projections, Energy Journal Special
Issue, in press, reference case CO2 projections. (2) Non-CO2 emissions are from EPA's Global Anthropogenic Emissions of Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases 1990-2020.

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