China vs United States of America: Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Building (Energy)

China
586.64 Mt CO2e
in 2024
United States of America
557.85 Mt CO2e
in 2024
China rank
1st
United States of America rank
2nd

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Building (Energy) over time

  • China
  • United States of America
2004006008001.0k197019972024

How they compare

China currently reports 586.64 Mt CO2e against 557.85 Mt CO2e in United States of America, a difference of 28.79 Mt CO2e.

That makes China's figure about 1.1 times United States of America's.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 55 shared years of data; in 1970 it was United States of America ahead.

China ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 2nd of 193 countries.

Across the 6 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and United States of America in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade China United States of America Difference Ahead
1970s 273.44 Mt CO2e 858.99 Mt CO2e 585.55 Mt CO2e United States of America
1980s 424.56 Mt CO2e 655.17 Mt CO2e 230.61 Mt CO2e United States of America
1990s 489.06 Mt CO2e 623.31 Mt CO2e 134.24 Mt CO2e United States of America
2000s 482.4 Mt CO2e 622.36 Mt CO2e 139.96 Mt CO2e United States of America
2010s 671.27 Mt CO2e 571.78 Mt CO2e 99.49 Mt CO2e China
2020s 590.47 Mt CO2e 562.55 Mt CO2e 27.93 Mt CO2e China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher carbon dioxide (co2) emissions from building (energy), China or United States of America?
China, at 586.64 Mt CO2e against 557.85 Mt CO2e in United States of America as of 2024.
What is the difference in carbon dioxide (co2) emissions from building (energy) between China and United States of America?
28.79 Mt CO2e, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States of America?
55 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2024.
How do China and United States of America rank globally for carbon dioxide (co2) emissions from building (energy)?
China ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 2nd of 193 countries.
Where does this data come from?
EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission, published as Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs United States of America: Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Building (Energy). Statizoid, drawing on EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission. Retrieved 26 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/carbon-dioxide-co2-emissions-from-building-energy-mt-co2e/china/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e)
Unit
Mt CO2e
Source
EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
240 places, 13,200 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed

A measure of annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases (GHG), from the building sector (subsector of the energy sector) including IPCC 2006 codes 1.A.4 Residential and other sectors, 1.A.5 Non-Specified. The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors of IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5).