Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions worldwide from 1975 to 2024 (in billion metric tons of carbon dioxide)

Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions recorded a year-over-year increase in 2024, rising to a high of  37.6 billion metric tons (GtCO₂). Since the turn of the century, global energy-related CO₂ emissions have risen by roughly 50 percent. 

Natural gas use drives emissions growth

Around 50 percent of the increase in global energy-related CO₂ emissions in 2024 was from natural gas combustion emissions, with considerable growth observed in China and emerging economies. That year, natural gas emissions did record a marginal decrease only in Japan.

Atmospheric CO₂ concentrations

As global CO₂ emissions have increased over the decades, so, too, has the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. In 2024, the global average concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere hit a record high of 424.6 parts per million (ppm), which was roughly 50 percent above average pre-industrial levels.