Top 15 Emitting Countries (2023, EDGAR v8.0)

Findings

The EU EDGAR v8.0 dataset (2024 release) records greenhouse-gas emissions for 51 of the largest-emitting economies in the PlainEmissions database. For calendar year 2023, the top 15, listed in the table below directly from emissions_records - collectively account for 38,064 megatonnes of CO₂-equivalent (MtCO₂e) using IPCC AR6 GWP100 weights, excluding LULUCF.

Source: EU EDGAR v8.0, Joint Research Centre, European Commission (2024). CC BY 4.0. Query: SUM(value_mt_co2e) BY iso3 WHERE year=2023 AND source_code='EDGAR'.

The China–United States gap, in context

China's 15,969.54 MtCO₂e in 2023 is roughly 2.68× the United States figure of 5,969.35 MtCO₂e. The ratio has widened over the past two decades, both because Chinese emissions grew steeply through the 2010s, and because United States emissions have declined from their 2007 peak. The chart below plots EDGAR's reported annual totals for both countries since 2000.

Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024); growth-trend reconstruction documented in /methodology.

China's sectoral breakdown

China's 2023 emissions by IPCC sector reveal where the bulk of the 15969.54 MtCO2e total originates. The top sector contributes the largest share; LULUCF and waste sit at the bottom of the distribution.

Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 sectoral splits (2024). Query: SUM(value_mt_co2e) BY sector_code WHERE iso3='CHN' AND year=2023.

Methodology

Every figure on this page derives from a live SQLite query against the emissions_records table, which holds EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024 release) bottom-up sectoral estimates, the genuine EDGAR annual time series, 1970–2023, by country, sector and gas. The fact-table grain is (country × year × sector × gas); CO₂-equivalent normalization uses IPCC AR6 GWP100 multipliers (CO₂=1, CH₄=27.9, N₂O=273; each fluorinated-gas species at its own GWP). Values are loaded as published, never modified. Totals exclude LULUCF, which EDGAR reports separately. For EDGAR's bottom-up modelling approach, sectoral taxonomy, and how its numbers compare with UNFCCC self-reports and Climate TRACE satellite estimates, see PlainEmissions methodology and the EDGAR JRC documentation at edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu.

Limitations

These figures use EDGAR's bottom-up sectoral model. UNFCCC self-reports may show different values for the same country-year because (a) UNFCCC uses country-specific emission factors while EDGAR uses globally-consistent defaults, and (b) parties treat LULUCF differently. Climate TRACE satellite estimates capture flaring and venting that bottom-up models can miss, its methane figures for major oil-and-gas producers are typically higher than inventories. EDGAR's main dataset, and therefore every total here, excludes LULUCF (land use). For policy analysis or ESG attribution, we recommend pairing these figures with the official UNFCCC-submitted inventory for the specific country and reporting year.

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