CO2 Emissions in 2022

About this report

CO2 Emissions in 2022 provides a complete picture of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2022. The report finds that global growth in emissions was not as high as some had originally feared amid the disruptions caused by the global energy crisis. This latest release brings together the IEA’s latest analysis, combining the Agency’s estimates of CO2 emissions from all energy sources and industrial processes, as well as providing information on energy-related methane and nitrous oxide emissions.

Energy-related CO2 emissions grew by 0.9% to over 36.8 Gt in 2022

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy combustion and industrial processes1 grew 0.9% or 321 Mt in 2022 to a new all-time high of 36.8 Gt. This estimate is based on the IEA’s detailed region-by-region and fuel-by-fuel analysis, incorporating the latest official national statistics and publicly available data on energy use, economic indicators, and weather.

Last year’s increase follows two years of exceptional oscillations in energy-related emissions. Emissions shrank by more than 5% in 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic cut energy demand. In 2021, emissions rebounded past pre-pandemic levels, growing more than 6% in tandem with economic stimulus and the roll-out of vaccines.

CO2 emissions from energy combustion grew by around 1.3% or 423 Mt in 2022, while CO2 emissions from industrial processes declined by 102 Mt. Emissions growth in 2022 was below global GDP growth (+3.2%), reverting to a decades-long trend of decoupling emissions and economic growth that was broken in 2021. Meanwhile, improvements in CO2 intensity of energy use were slightly slower than the past decade’s (2012-2021) annual average.

There were divergent trends between regions and sectors. CO2 emissions grew in North America and Asia (excluding People’s Republic of China [“China” hereafter]), outweighing reductions from Europe and China. At a global level, CO2 emissions from power and transport (including international bunkers) grew by 261 Mt and 254 Mt, respectively, more than offsetting reductions from industry and buildings.

Greater deployment of clean energy technologies helped prevent further emissions growth amid crises

In an exceptionally turbulent year with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, energy price shocks, rising inflation, and major disruptions to traditional fuel trade flows, global growth in emissions was lower than anticipated.

Impressive growth of solar PV and wind generation helped prevent around 465 Mt CO2 in power sector emissions. Other clean energy technologies, including other renewables, electric vehicles, and heat pumps, helped prevent an additional roughly 85 Mt CO2. Without this increased growth in clean energy deployment, the annual increase in energy-related emissions would have been almost triple. Emissions reductions also resulted from economic slowdowns, including 155 Mt CO2 from decreases in energy-intensive industrial production, mainly in China, the European Union, Japan, Korea and North America.

Specific challenges in 2022 also contributed to the global increase in emissions. Of the overall increase of 321 Mt CO2, extreme temperatures contributed 60 Mt from heating and cooling for buildings. The decline in nuclear power generation, due to both maintenance and continued phase-outs, led to another 55 Mt CO2.

Reductions in emissions from natural gas were more than replaced by emissions from coal

Emissions from natural gas decreased by 1.6% or 118 Mt in 2022, as an already tight gas supply was exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the widespread trade disruptions that followed.

Emissions reductions were particularly pronounced in Europe, where they fell by 13.5%, with the strongest year-on-year reductions coming in the last months of the year. European gas prices reached record highs in 2022 following a sharp decline in Russian gas flows. However, a mild start to winter helped reduce household heating demand. In the Asia Pacific, LNG spot prices also spiked, and natural gas emissions declined by 1.8%, the largest year-on-year decline ever seen in the region. By contrast, natural gas demand remained robust in the United States and Canada, where emissions from gas increased by 5.8%.

Coal emissions grew 243 Mt to a new all-time high of almost 15.5 Gt. This 1.6% increase was faster than the 0.4% annual average growth over the past decade.

Oil emissions grew the most last year

Emissions from oil grew by 2.5% (or 268 Mt) to 11.2 Gt in 2022. Around half of the year-on-year increase came from aviation as air travel continued its recovery from pandemic lows. The rebound to pre-pandemic emissions levels was faster in advanced economies, where last year’s aviation emissions reached 85% of 2019 levels, compared with 73% in emerging market and developing economies.

Total transport emissions increased by 2.1% (or 137 Mt), also driven by growth in advanced economies. Nonetheless, emissions would have been higher without the accelerating deployment of low-carbon vehicles. Electric car sales surpassed 10 million in 2022, making up over 14% of global sales. If all new electric cars on the road had been typical diesel or gasoline cars, global emissions last year would have been another 13 Mt higher.

Despite promising growth in renewables, power sector emissions had the largest sectoral growth

The largest absolute sectoral increase in emissions in 2022 was from electricity and heat generation. Electricity and heat sector emissions increased by 1.8% (or 261 Mt), reaching an all-time high of 14.6 Gt. Gas-to-coal switching in many regions was the main driver of this growth: CO2 from coal-fired power generation grew by 2.1%, led by increases in Asian emerging market and developing economies. Natural gas emissions in the power sector remained close to 2021 levels, propped up most significantly by an increase in the United States.

Global electricity demand increased by 2.7%, and overall carbon intensity of the electricity generation declined by 2.0%, resuming a nine-year trend that had been broken in 2021.

The resumed decline in carbon intensity resulted from the fast deployment of renewables across all regions, with renewables meeting 90% of global growth in electricity demand. Solar PV and wind generation each increased by around 275 TWh, helping to avoid around 465 Mt in power sector emissions. Although several countries registered severe droughts in 2022, global hydro generation grew by 52 TWh from 2021’s levels, which were low because of water shortages in many regions.

Reliance on coal- and gas-fired power in extreme weather drove up emissions across regions

Emissions were pushed up by reliance on fossil fuel power plants to meet excess cooling demand during extreme summer heat, with cooling degree days across several regions in 2022 exceeding typical levels or even the maximum seen between 2000 and 2021. In the United States, the share of natural gas in the power fuel mix surpassed 40% in July and August. Coal power generation in China increased in August by around 15% year-on-year to exceed 500 TWh. In both countries, emissions levels for the first half of the year were lower than in 2021, before summer heat waves reversed the trend.

Europe saw the second warmest start to winter in the last 30 years, and as a result, emissions from buildings were lower than anticipated.

For the full year, cooling and heating demand from extreme weather pushed up global emissions by around 60 Mt CO2, around two-thirds of which came from additional cooling needs, and the remaining third from heating needs. This accounted for almost one-fifth of the total global increase in CO2 emissions.

China’s emissions barely changed from 2021 to 2022, amid Covid-19 lockdowns and a real estate slump

Energy-related emissions in China were relatively flat between 2021 and 2022, decreasing by 0.2% or 23 Mt to around 12.1 Gt. Emissions from energy combustion alone grew by 88 Mt, entirely due to increased use of coal, but this was more than offset by declines in emissions from industrial processes. The overall yearly decline was the first since structural reforms drove emissions lower in 2015.

While China significantly ramped up domestic coal production and coal power capacity additions last year, actual coal consumption did not fully keep pace. Tempered by a large increase in solar PV and wind generation, coal accounted for around three-fifths of the fuel mix in electricity generation. Total electricity demand grew much slower than the average seen over the last decade. As such, emissions from coal-fired power increased by around 3%, in part due to the ramp-up of coal power plants during heat waves, as well as to increasing reliance on electricity or district heating fuelled by coal.

Industry sector emissions declined, but the effects of China’s crackdown on debt-financed property and the ongoing real estate slump were not fully reflected in 2022 industry emissions. Construction new starts were down by around 40% year-on-year, while the production of steel and cement were just 2% and 10% lower than in 2021, respectively. As a result, China’s industry sector emitted 161 Mt less than the year before, with a large share of this decline from process emissions. China’s unprecedentedly large year-on-year decline pulled down global industry emissions.

In contrast to the global growth in transport sector emissions, China’s transport emissions registered a 3.1% decrease in 2022. Covid-19 measures were strongly reinforced in comparison to 2021, including total lockdowns in major cities and restrictions on crossing prefecture or province boundaries. At the same time, electric car sales reached 6 million in 2022, preventing further emissions from diesel and gasoline cars.

Energy crisis pushed European Union to cut emissions through clean power and demand reduction measures

Despite the coinciding challenges of oil and gas market disruptions, hydro shortfalls due to drought, and numerous nuclear plants going offline, the European Union reduced its emissions by 2.5% (or 70 Mt), thanks to a mild winter, effective energy conservation measures, fuel switching, behaviour changes, and industrial production curtailments. Reduced natural gas emissions more than offset increases in emissions from coal and oil.

Buildings sector emissions declined the most, by 60 Mt, enabled by exceptionally mild weather from October to December 2022 – the second warmest start to winter in the last 30 years – and collective energy conservation measures. Average electricity consumption was lower, even accounting for weather, and electricity use was less sensitive to temperature changes in 2022 than in 2019, pointing to the role of behaviour change. EU heat pump sales reached 2.8 million, more than doubling in several countries from the previous year. Meanwhile industry sector CO2 emissions declined by 42 Mt. 

Power sector emissions increased by 28 Mt even though electricity demand declined, as a temporarily higher reliance on coal increased carbon intensity. A 15% increase in wind and solar PV generation helped prevent further coal use with wind and solar PV for the first time jointly overtaking gas as well as nuclear as the top source of Europe’s electricity generation. This record-breaking increase in solar PV and wind generation avoided almost 75 Mt CO2 of emissions. Without hydro generation decreasing by 21% year-on-year and nuclear by 17%, another 80 Mt could have been averted.