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Carbon Emissions

Answer

Estimates show China accounted for more than a quarter (26%) of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2023. The United States accounted for around 11% of the 2023 global total, the European Union around 6%, and the UK less than 1%. Nearly half of annual global GHG emissions were from countries which individually accounted for 3% or less of the global total. UK GHG emissions per capita were slightly lower than the global average in 2023. Over the period 1850-2023, the UK accounted for around 4% of cumulative global CO2 emissions. Figures include emissions from the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector and are rounded to the nearest 100MtCO2_e.

	Latest annual emissions			Cumulative emissions (1850-2023)
	Emissions in 2023 (MtCO2e)	% of global emissions (2023)	Emissions per capita in 2023 (tCO2e)	1850-2023 total (MtCO2)	Share of cumulative emissions
World	50,800	100%	6.3	2,263,800	100%
China	13,200	26%	9.3	345,900	15%
US	5,400	11%	15.8	471,700	21%
EU	3,100	6%	7.0	311,800	14%
UK	400	1%	5.9	80,600	4%

Sources and caveats: 2023 GHG emission data reported by Climate Watch, DESNZ GHG inventory for the UK. Historic CO2 emissions data sourced from the PRIMAP-hist v2.7 CO₂ emissions dataset. Population estimates are based on data from the UN World Population Prospects. Emissions estimates may differ from country’s official inventories reported to the UNFCCC.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

HL3220

Session

2026-27

Subjects

China EU countries Carbon emissions USA

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk