World leaders and delegates are gathering in Antalya, Turkiye, for COP۳۱, the annual climate summit of the United Nations, which runs from November ۹ to ۲۰.
They meet as global emissions continue to climb. The world emitted ۵۴.۱ billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in ۲۰۲۵, ۰.۷ percent more than the year before and ۶۸.۵ percent more than in ۱۹۹۰, according to the latest figures from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide and methane, trap heat in the atmosphere, raising global temperatures and fuelling heatwaves, droughts, floods and other extreme weather conditions.
In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera breaks down which gases are warming the planet, which industries and countries emit the most, and how their emissions have changed over time.
Which gases are warming the planet?
Carbon dioxide (CO۲) made up ۷۳.۸ percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in ۲۰۲۵. It is released mainly when fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas are burned, while deforestation removes trees that would otherwise absorb it.
Methane (CH۴) accounted for ۱۷.۶ percent of emissions that year, followed by nitrous oxide (N۲O) at ۵.۳ percent and fluorinated gases (F-gases) at ۳.۳ percent.
Global CO۲ emissions have risen by ۷۶.۳ percent since ۱۹۹۰, according to the JRC.
How is a warming planet affecting the world?
As these gases build up in the atmosphere, they trap more heat. In ۲۰۲۵, the heat stored in the world’s oceans reached its highest level on record, and the rate of ocean warming has increased sharply over the past two decades, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Extreme weather has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes in ۲۰۲۶, according to the WMO.
In Europe, heatwaves, droughts and wildfires between May and August caused more than ۳۰,۰۰۰ excess deaths, and ۲۲۰,۰۰۰ people were evacuated in France alone.
On August ۲۶, a glacier collapse and the resulting flash flood in the Himalayas killed more than ۱,۵۰۰ people in Nepal along its border with China, while about ۵,۶۰۰ remain missing, according to the UN.
In June and July, Typhoon Bavi forced three million people to evacuate in China and killed ۲۶ in the Philippines. Weeks later, severe Tropical Storm Maysak killed ۱۷۱ people and caused more than $۳bn in losses in China.
Earlier in the year, floods and windstorms across the western Mediterranean displaced more than ۱۸۰,۰۰۰ people in Morocco, while extreme cold and snow in North America killed ۱۷۴ people.
The map below shows some of the most extreme weather events of ۲۰۲۶.
Where do the world’s emissions come from?
The world’s greenhouse gas emissions have more than doubled since ۱۹۷۰, rising from about ۲۳ billion tonnes to ۵۴.۱ billion tonnes in ۲۰۲۵, according to the JRC.
The power industry, which generates electricity, is the largest source, producing nearly ۳۰ percent of global emissions in ۲۰۲۵. Its emissions have roughly quadrupled since ۱۹۷۰, driven by soaring demand for electricity in fast-growing economies such as China and India.
Industry, including manufacturing and mining, is the second-largest source at ۲۱ percent. This covers fuel burned in factories as well as gases released when producing cement, metals and chemicals. Industrial emissions climbed steeply in the ۲۰۰۰s as China’s manufacturing boomed.
Transport, including cars, shipping and aviation, is third at ۱۶ percent.
Together, these three sectors produce about two-thirds of the world’s emissions. The rest comes from agriculture (۱۲ percent), the extraction of coal, oil and gas (۱۱ percent), buildings (۶.۶ percent) and waste (۳.۶ percent).
Global emissions have fallen only a handful of times since ۱۹۷۰, including in the early ۱۹۸۰s, after the ۲۰۰۸ financial crisis and during the COVID-۱۹ pandemic in ۲۰۲۰. Each time, they rebounded.
Who are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases?
In ۲۰۲۵, the three largest emitters produced almost half of the world’s greenhouse gases. China emitted almost ۱۶ billion tonnes (۲۹.۵ percent), the United States ۶.۰۲ billion tonnes (۱۱.۱ percent) and India ۴.۵۱ billion tonnes (۸.۳ percent).
The ۲۷ countries of the European Union together accounted for ۵.۸ percent, followed by Russia (۴.۸ percent), Indonesia (۲.۵ percent), Brazil (۲.۴ percent) and Iran (۲.۱ percent).
International shipping and aviation, which fall outside any single country’s total, together produced ۲.۶ percent of global emissions, more than most countries.
It was not always this way. The Industrial Revolution of the ۱۸th and ۱۹th centuries drove up emissions first in the West, particularly in the United Kingdom and the US, as they built factories and moved to mass manufacturing. Global emissions then rose sharply after World War II and have more than doubled since ۱۹۷۰.
China’s emissions surged in the early ۲۰۰۰s as its economy boomed, and it overtook the US as the world’s largest emitter in the mid-۲۰۰۰s.
But measured over time, the picture changes. Since the mid-۱۸th century, the US has produced ۲۳.۵ percent of all CO۲ emissions, compared with ۱۵.۴ percent from China, according to the Global Carbon Budget.
Which industries drive each country’s emissions?
In China, the power sector is the largest source, producing ۴۲ percent of the country’s almost ۱۶ billion tonnes of greenhouse gases. Industry accounts for ۳۱ percent and fuel production for ۹.۵ percent.
In September ۲۰۲۵, Chinese President Xi Jinping, for the first time, pledged to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by ۷ to ۱۰ percent from their peak by ۲۰۳۵.
In the US, transport is the largest source at ۲۹ percent, mostly from cars and trucks. The power sector accounts for ۲۶ percent and industry for ۱۴ percent.
In India, which still relies heavily on coal for electricity, the power sector produces ۳۵ percent of emissions, followed by industry at ۲۴ percent and agriculture at ۱۹ percent.
Explore the table below to see which sectors produce the most greenhouse gas emissions in each country.
