World Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2005

In 2005, total global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions were estimated at 44,153 MtCO2 equivalent, representing a 12.7% increase from 2000. The energy sector, specifically electricity, heat, and transportation, drove much of this growth, with developing countries accounting for the majority of emissions in electricity, heat, and industry. While high global warming potential gases grew by 44% between 2000 and 2005, they remain a small percentage of total emissions. Notably, revised methodologies for calculating land-use change reduced its estimated share of total GHGs from 18.2% to 12.2%, although actual emissions from this sector grew by 4.1% during the period.

• Total global greenhouse gas emissions in 2005 were estimated at 44,153 MtCO2 equivalent, marking a 12.7% increase from 2000, which averages to a yearly growth rate of 2.4%.
• The distribution of 2005 emissions by sector shows that Electricity & Heat was the largest contributor at 24.9%, followed by Transportation at 14.3%, Energy (Other Fuel Combustion) at 14.7%, Agriculture at 13.8%, Land Use Change at 12.2%, Industrial Processes at 4.3%, and Waste at 3.2%.
• Emissions growth between 2000 and 2005 was primarily driven by developing countries in the electricity, heat, and industry sectors, whereas developed countries remained the majority emitters in building use and transport.
• Revised methodologies for calculating deforestation led to a decrease in the estimated share of greenhouse gases from land-use change, dropping from 18.2% in the previous chart to 12.2% in 2005, despite a 4.1% actual increase in emissions from this sector between 2000 and 2005.
• Emissions of high global warming potential (GWP) gases, including SF6 and ODS substitutes, grew by 44% on a CO2-equivalent basis between 2000 and 2005, driven by semiconductor manufacturing and electricity use in developing countries and ODS substitute production in developed countries.

APA

Herzog, T. (2009). World Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2005. World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/resources/world_greenhouse_gas_emissions_2005.pdf

Chicago

Herzog, Tim. World Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2005. World Resources Institute, 2009. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/resources/world_greenhouse_gas_emissions_2005.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Herzog |first1=Tim |title=World Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2005 |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=July 2009 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/resources/world_greenhouse_gas_emissions_2005.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{herzog2009world, author = {Herzog, Tim}, title = {{World Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2005}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2009}, month = jul, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/resources/world_greenhouse_gas_emissions_2005.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }