World leaders and delegates are gathering in Antalya, Turkiye, for COP31, the annual climate summit of the United Nations, which runs from November 9 to 20.
asserted
which → gather → 20
They meet as global emissions continue to climb.
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emissions → meet → ?
The world emitted 54.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2025, 0.7 percent more than the year before and 68.5 percent more than in 1990, according to the latest figures from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
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world → emit → Centre
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.
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emissions → trap → time
Which gases are warming the planet?
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gases → warm → planet
Carbon dioxide (CO2) made up 73.8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2025.
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dioxide → make → 2025
It is released mainly when fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas are burned, while deforestation removes trees that would otherwise absorb it.
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that → release → it
Methane (CH4) accounted for 17.6 percent of emissions that year, followed by nitrous oxide (N2O) at 5.3 percent and fluorinated gases (F-gases) at 3.3 percent.
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Methane → account → percent
Global CO2 emissions have risen by 76.3 percent since 1990, according to the JRC.
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emissions → rise → JRC
How is a warming planet affecting the world?
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planet → warm → world
As these gases build up in the atmosphere, they trap more heat.
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they → build → heat
In 2025, 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).
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rate → store → Organization
Extreme weather has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes in 2026, according to the WMO.
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weather → kill → WMO
In Europe, heatwaves, droughts and wildfires between May and August caused more than 30,000 excess deaths, and 220,000 people were evacuated in France alone.
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people → cause → France
On August 26, a glacier collapse and the resulting flash flood in the Himalayas killed more than 1,500 people in Nepal along its border with China, while about 5,600 remain missing, according to the UN.
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5,600 → result → UN
In June and July, Typhoon Bavi forced three million people to evacuate in China and killed 26 in the Philippines.
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Bavi → force → Philippines
Weeks later, severe Tropical Storm Maysak killed 171 people and caused more than $3bn in losses in China.
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Maysak → kill → China
Earlier in the year, floods and windstorms across the western Mediterranean displaced more than 180,000 people in Morocco, while extreme cold and snow in North America killed 174 people.
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cold → displace → people
The map below shows some of the most extreme weather events of 2026.
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map → show → 2026
Where do the world’s emissions come from?
The world’s greenhouse gas emissions have more than doubled since 1970, rising from about 23 billion tonnes to 54.1 billion tonnes in 2025, according to the JRC.
The power industry, which generates electricity, is the largest source, producing nearly 30 percent of global emissions in 2025.
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which → come → 2025
Its emissions have roughly quadrupled since 1970, driven by soaring demand for electricity in fast-growing economies such as China and India.
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emissions → quadruple → China
Industry, including manufacturing and mining, is the second-largest source at 21 percent.
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Industry → include → percent
This covers fuel burned in factories as well as gases released when producing cement, metals and chemicals.
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This → cover → cement
Industrial emissions climbed steeply in the 2000s as China’s manufacturing boomed.
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manufacturing → climb → 2000s
Transport, including cars, shipping and aviation, is third at 16 percent.
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Transport → include → percent
Together, these three sectors produce about two-thirds of the world’s emissions.
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sectors → produce → emissions
The rest comes from agriculture (12 percent), the extraction of coal, oil and gas (11 percent), buildings (6.6 percent) and waste (3.6 percent).
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rest → come → coal
Global emissions have fallen only a handful of times since 1970, including in the early 1980s, after the 2008 financial crisis and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
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emissions → fall → 2020
Each time, they rebounded.
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they → rebound → ?
In 2025, the three largest emitters produced almost half of the world’s greenhouse gases.
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emitters → produce → gases
China emitted almost 16 billion tonnes (29.5 percent), the United States 6.02 billion tonnes (11.1 percent) and India 4.51 billion tonnes (8.3 percent).
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States → emit → tonnes
The 27 countries of the European Union together accounted for 5.8 percent, followed by Russia (4.8 percent), Indonesia (2.5 percent), Brazil (2.4 percent) and Iran (2.1 percent).
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countries → account → Russia
International shipping and aviation, which fall outside any single country’s total, together produced 2.6 percent of global emissions, more than most countries.
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which → fall → countries
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th 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.
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they → drive → manufacturing
Global emissions then rose sharply after World War II and have more than doubled since 1970.
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emissions → rise → 1970
China’s emissions surged in the early 2000s as its economy boomed, and it overtook the US as the world’s largest emitter in the mid-2000s.
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it → surge → mid-2000s
But measured over time, the picture changes.
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picture → measure → time
Since the mid-18th century, the US has produced 23.5 percent of all CO2 emissions, compared with 15.4 percent from China, according to the Global Carbon Budget.
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US → produce → Budget
Which industries drive each country’s emissions?
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industries → drive → emissions
In China, the power sector is the largest source, producing 42 percent of the country’s almost 16 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases.
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sector → produce → gases
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
