# Fossil CO2 emissions

Carbon dioxide emitted from fossil sources in the year, in million tonnes of CO2, as estimated by the Global Carbon Project for the Global Carbon Budget. Fossil CO2 covers the burning of coal, oil and gas, gas flaring, cement production and other industrial carbonate use. Emissions are counted in the country where they occur (territorial emissions). International aviation and shipping are left out of country figures and included in the World total. Land use change is not included.

## Key facts

- Fossil CO2 emissions in the World was 38,598.6 million tonnes of CO2 in 2024, according to Global Carbon Project.
- Fossil CO2 emissions in the United States was 4,904.1 million tonnes of CO2 in 2024, according to Global Carbon Project.
- China had the highest fossil CO2 emissions of 215 countries in 2024, at 12,289 million tonnes of CO2, and Christmas Island the lowest, at 0 million tonnes of CO2. Source: Global Carbon Project.
- Published for 216 places, with figures from 1850 to 2024.
- Figures last updated on 2026-10-12.

- Indicator id: `fossil_co2_emissions`
- Unit: million tonnes of CO2
- Note: Higher than energy_co2_emissions (EIA), which counts CO2 from energy use only, and lower than greenhouse gas totals, which add methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases. Each annual Global Carbon Budget release revises past years.
- Web page: https://invokely.ai/en/fossil-co2-emissions
- API: https://invokely.ai/api/v1/indicators/fossil_co2_emissions

## Latest figures

| Place | Period | million tonnes of CO2 | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|
| World | 2024 | 38,598.6 | Andrew, R. M. and Peters, G. P., The Global Carbon Project's fossil CO2 emissions dataset, Global Carbon Budget (Friedlingstein et al.). Global Carbon Project fossil CO2 emissions dataset: total fossil CO2 emissions, million tonnes of CO2. https://zenodo.org/records/17417124. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. |
| United States | 2024 | 4,904.1 | Andrew, R. M. and Peters, G. P., The Global Carbon Project's fossil CO2 emissions dataset, Global Carbon Budget (Friedlingstein et al.). Global Carbon Project fossil CO2 emissions dataset: total fossil CO2 emissions, million tonnes of CO2. https://zenodo.org/records/17417124. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. |

## Rankings

- [Countries](https://invokely.ai/rankings/fossil-co2-emissions/countries.md) (215 places)
- [EU countries](https://invokely.ai/rankings/fossil-co2-emissions/eu-countries.md) (27 places)