IPCC sector · FUGITIVE · 2023
Fugitive emissions: Global Emissions by Country
Methane leaks from oil & gas systems and coal mining.
Sector answer
Fugitive emissions ranks #5 / 7 by absolute EDGAR total and #2 / 7 by methane share among IPCC sectors in 2023; China leads country-level emissions at 1,067.81 MtCO₂e (32% of the top-20 sum) - sector size and methane intensity are not the same ladder.
- #5 / 7
- Sector Mt rank
- #2 / 7
- Methane-share rank
- China
- #1 country · 1,067.81 Mt
- 32%
- of top-20 sum
Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 sectoral breakdown. AR6 GWP100; excludes LULUCF.
EDGAR sector concentration roll
FUGITIVE · 2023 · 3,323 Mt top-20
- VOL 3,323 Mt
- RANK-A #5 / 7
- RANK-CH4 #2 / 7
- LEAD China
- SHARE 32%
- GAS 72% Methane
- PHOTO United States
- BOOK 7 sectors
Leader: China (1,067.81 Mt · 32% of top-20 sum)
Year-to-year inventory change
What changed between 2022 and 2023
- Fugitive emissions's methane total across tracked economies rose from 2,500 MtCO₂e in 2022 to 2,568 MtCO₂e in 2023 in the EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024) extract, a change of +68 MtCO₂e (+2.7%).
- Fugitive emissions's tracked-economy sector total rose from 3,439 MtCO₂e in 2022 to 3,545 MtCO₂e in 2023 in the EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024) extract, a change of +105.8 MtCO₂e (+3.1%).
According to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre EDGAR v8.0 corpus, Fugitive emissions ranks #5 of 7 IPCC sectors with live EDGAR rows by absolute greenhouse-gas total in 2023 (largest MtCO2e = #1) and #2 of 7 by methane share of the sector total (highest CH4 fraction = #1). How we place sectors.
Fugitive emissions vs all sectors by EDGAR greenhouse-gas total
Where this sector's 2023 EDGAR MtCO₂e sits among every IPCC sector with live rows (inventory mass, not policy priority)
3,545 29th percentile more MtCO₂e than 29% of 7 sectors
Sectors, banded by EDGAR MtCO₂e (AR6 GWP100)
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more sectors. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source EU EDGAR v8.0 · 2023
Top 15 emitters in fugitive emissions (2023, MtCO₂e)
EU EDGAR v8.0, highest first
Data from EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024 release)
Largest-country share in fugitive emissions
2023 · top-20 tracked total
Top 20 countries - Fugitive emissions (2023)
| Country | MtCO2e | Share of top 20 |
|---|---|---|
| China | 32.1% | |
| United States | 13.8% | |
| Russia | 12.9% | |
| Indonesia | 7.6% | |
| Iraq | 5.1% | |
| Iran | 4.9% | |
| India | 4.8% | |
| Canada | 2.6% | |
| Nigeria | 2.6% | |
| Saudi Arabia | 2.2% | |
| Algeria | 1.7% | |
| Australia | 1.6% | |
| South Africa | 1.6% | |
| Ukraine | 1.3% | |
| Brazil | 1.1% | |
| Venezuela | 0.9% | |
| Kazakhstan | 0.9% | |
| United Arab Emirates | 0.8% | |
| Mexico | 0.7% | |
| Vietnam | 0.7% |
Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 (Joint Research Centre, 2024). CC BY 4.0.
Fugitive emissions emissions trend (1970–2023, MtCO₂e)
Sum across all tracked countries, EU EDGAR v8.0
Data from EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024 release)
Gas mix in fugitive emissions
| Gas | MtCO2e |
|---|---|
| Methane | |
| Carbon dioxide | |
| Nitrous oxide |
Fugitive emissions: mid-book sector · China 1,067.81 MtCO₂e (32% of top-20)
China alone is 32% of the top-20 sum - policy headroom is concentrated in one economy. Methane leads the gas mix at 72% of the sector total (AR6 GWP100) - abatement tracks methane controls more than stack CO₂. Absolute Mt rank #5 / 7 diverges from methane-share rank #2 / 7 - size and CH₄ intensity are different ladders.
Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 (Joint Research Centre). Sector totals summed from emissions_records; AR6 GWP100; excludes LULUCF.
Methodology
Fugitive emissions is IPCC source category FUGITIVE. Country totals are summed from
emissions_records for that code; figures are EDGAR's reported annual values
(1970–2023), converted to CO₂-equivalent at AR6 GWP100.
This sector sits in the middle third of live EDGAR sector mass (3,545 MtCO₂e corpus total). EDGAR's main GHG dataset excludes LULUCF. See methodology for the full pipeline.
Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 (Joint Research Centre, 2024) - global bottom-up sectoral model, CC BY 4.0 license.
FAQ
Which country emits the most in the fugitive emissions sector?
China leads fugitive emissions emissions in 2023 at 1,067.81 MtCO2e (32% of the top-20 sum) per EU EDGAR v8.0.
Which gas dominates fugitive emissions emissions?
Methane dominates the fugitive emissions sector with 2,567.93 MtCO2e in 2023 (72% of sector total), weighted via AR6 GWP100.
What does the fugitive emissions sector include?
Methane leaks from oil & gas systems and coal mining.
Data vintage: EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024 release), 2023 data year. Sector emissions summed from EDGAR records for the focal year; LULUCF handling follows the sector taxonomy.