Spain: Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Spain's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) fell 0.4 percentage points on 2023 (from -3.69% to -4.09%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.15 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.88 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 9.64 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 17.39 percentage points in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 2.94 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 72% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Spain had the 152nd highest value of the 201 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Spain in the 2024 ranking

• Virgin Islands (US) — 149th of 201: 0%
• Eswatini — 150th of 201: -1.06%
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 151st of 201: -1.22%
• Syrian Arab Republic — 153rd of 201: -4.71%
• Austria — 154th of 201: -5.74%
• Venezuela, RB — 155th of 201: -6.01%

What this measures

Change of emissions (as %) of current year with respect to emissions in baseline year 1990 emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases (GHG), from the agriculture, energy, waste, and industrial sectors, excluding LULUCF.. The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors of IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5). Negative values indicate that the emission level for that year is lower than the emissions level in 1990.

Limitations: Global GHG emissions are currently not directly measurable, but approaches for their estimation exist, and numerous sources exist to supply data for this indicator. Reputable scientific organizations produce these data for use for research, policy analysis, climate negotiations, and broader public communications. The estimated accuracy from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes are quite high, as quantities of fossil fuels and other emissive materials (such as cement and steel) produced are well known. For these sectors, emissions estimates are roughly accurate to within 10% when aggregated to the global level and between 4% and 35% at the country level (Crippa et al., 2023).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average using 1990 emission levels as weights.

All 34 values

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) in nearby economies

• Albania — -36.14% (2024)
• Armenia — -63.94% (2024)
• Austria — -5.74% (2024)
• Azerbaijan — -30.71% (2024)
• Belarus — -48.63% (2024)
• Belgium — -25.19% (2024)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — -16.96% (2024)
• Bulgaria — -57.29% (2024)

More environment data for Spain

• Population in largest city — 6.81 million (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 17.14% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 12.54 million (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 25.42% (2025)
• Rural population — 9.62 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 19.49% (2025)
• Urban population — 39.74 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 80.51% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 246,201 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Spain's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990)?

-4.09% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is down 7.57 percentage points from 3.48% in 1991. The highest value was 61.9% in 2007 and the lowest -6.54% in 2020.

How does Spain rank?

152nd highest of 201 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) unusual for Spain?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EN.GHG.CO2.ZG.AR5, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission, uri: https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset_ghg2024, publisher: JRC European Commission, date published: 2024; International Energy Agency (IEA), uri: https://edgar.j… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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