IPCC sector · TRANSPORT · 2023
Transport: Global Emissions by Country
Road, rail, aviation, shipping, and other transport fuels.
Sector answer
Transport ranks #3 / 7 by absolute EDGAR total and #5 / 7 by methane share among IPCC sectors in 2023; United States leads country-level emissions at 1,736.54 MtCO₂e (31% of the top-20 sum) - sector size and methane intensity are not the same ladder.
- #3 / 7
- Sector Mt rank
- #5 / 7
- Methane-share rank
- United States
- #1 country · 1,736.54 Mt
- 31%
- of top-20 sum
Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 sectoral breakdown. AR6 GWP100; excludes LULUCF.
EDGAR sector concentration roll
TRANSPORT · 2023 · 5,568 Mt top-20
- VOL 5,568 Mt
- RANK-A #3 / 7
- RANK-CH4 #5 / 7
- LEAD United States
- SHARE 31%
- GAS 98% Carbon
- PHOTO China
- BOOK 7 sectors
Leader: United States (1,736.54 Mt · 31% of top-20 sum)
Year-to-year inventory change
What changed between 2022 and 2023
- Transport's tracked-economy sector total rose from 6,347 MtCO₂e in 2022 to 6,552 MtCO₂e in 2023 in the EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024) extract, a change of +204.7 MtCO₂e (+3.2%).
- Transport's methane total across tracked economies rose from 25.5 MtCO₂e in 2022 to 26.3 MtCO₂e in 2023 in the EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024) extract, a change of +0.8 MtCO₂e (+3.1%).
According to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre EDGAR v8.0 corpus, Transport ranks #3 of 7 IPCC sectors with live EDGAR rows by absolute greenhouse-gas total in 2023 (largest MtCO2e = #1) and #5 of 7 by methane share of the sector total (highest CH4 fraction = #1). How we place sectors.
Transport 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)
6,552 Top 43% more MtCO₂e than 57% 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 transport (2023, MtCO₂e)
EU EDGAR v8.0, highest first
Data from EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024 release)
Largest-country share in transport
2023 · top-20 tracked total
Top 20 countries - Transport (2023)
| Country | MtCO2e | Share of top 20 |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 31.2% | |
| China | 20.0% | |
| India | 6.3% | |
| Russia | 4.8% | |
| Brazil | 4.0% | |
| Japan | 3.3% | |
| Canada | 3.0% | |
| Indonesia | 2.7% | |
| Saudi Arabia | 2.7% | |
| Iran | 2.6% | |
| Germany | 2.5% | |
| Mexico | 2.4% | |
| France | 2.2% | |
| United Kingdom | 2.0% | |
| South Korea | 1.9% | |
| Italy | 1.9% | |
| Australia | 1.8% | |
| Turkey | 1.7% | |
| Spain | 1.7% | |
| Thailand | 1.5% |
Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 (Joint Research Centre, 2024). CC BY 4.0.
Transport 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 transport
| Gas | MtCO2e |
|---|---|
| Carbon dioxide | |
| Nitrous oxide | |
| Methane |
Transport: large EDGAR mass · United States 1,736.54 MtCO₂e (31% of top-20)
United States alone is 31% of the top-20 sum - policy headroom is concentrated in one economy. Carbon dioxide leads the gas mix at 98% - this sector moves with combustion/process CO₂ tooling more than CH₄. Absolute Mt rank #3 / 7 diverges from methane-share rank #5 / 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
Transport is IPCC source category TRANSPORT. 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 upper third of live EDGAR sector mass (6,552 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 transport sector?
United States leads transport emissions in 2023 at 1,736.54 MtCO2e (31% of the top-20 sum) per EU EDGAR v8.0.
Which gas dominates transport emissions?
Carbon dioxide dominates the transport sector with 6,426.03 MtCO2e in 2023 (98% of sector total), weighted via AR6 GWP100.
What does the transport sector include?
Road, rail, aviation, shipping, and other transport fuels.
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.