Climate TRACE · Emissions data · 2024
In 2024, the single largest source of greenhouse-gas emissions on Earth was Russia — Central Sub-basin - West Siberia — Conventional onshore in Russian Federation, a fossil fuel operations asset that released about 268.6 Mt CO₂e (million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent) in that year alone. Every one of the top 20 sources below is an oil & gas or other fossil-fuel operation.
These figures come from Climate TRACE, an independent coalition that measures emissions from their actual physical sources — using satellites, remote sensing and AI — rather than relying on self-reported national totals. The table below ranks the 20 highest-emitting individual assets worldwide for 2024, across every sector except forestry & land use (which is measured as diffuse land areas rather than discrete facilities). All values are in million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent (Mt CO₂e, 100-year global warming potential).
| Rank | Emission source / asset | Sector | Country | Emissions (Mt CO₂e) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia — Central Sub-basin - West Siberia — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Russian Federation | 268.60 |
| 2 | Iran — Zagros Foldbelt — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 169.63 |
| 3 | Canada — West Canadian - Alberta — Oil sands AB | Fossil fuel operations | Canada | 166.85 |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia — Widyan - North Arabian Gulf — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Saudi Arabia | 109.86 |
| 5 | Iraq — Widyan - North Arabian Gulf — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Iraq | 100.00 |
| 6 | Russia — Volga - Urals — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Russian Federation | 84.96 |
| 7 | Iran — Rub al Khali — Conventional shelf | Fossil fuel operations | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 83.61 |
| 8 | Russia — Central Sub-basin - West Siberia — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Russian Federation | 82.82 |
| 9 | Spraberry Lower Light Oil TX | Fossil fuel operations | United States of America | 68.14 |
| 10 | Saudi Arabia — Widyan - North Arabian Gulf — Conventional shelf | Fossil fuel operations | Saudi Arabia | 60.06 |
| 11 | Qatar — Rub al Khali — LNG | Fossil fuel operations | Qatar | 56.62 |
| 12 | Oman — Rub al Khali — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Oman | 51.15 |
| 13 | Iran — Rub al Khali — Conventional shelf | Fossil fuel operations | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 50.71 |
| 14 | Algeria — Illizi - Ghadames — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Algeria | 48.61 |
| 15 | Kuwait — Widyan - North Arabian Gulf — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Kuwait | 48.36 |
| 16 | Venezuela — Maturin — Heavy oil | Fossil fuel operations | Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 47.84 |
| 17 | Turkmenistan — Amu-Dar'ya — Acid/sour gas | Fossil fuel operations | Turkmenistan | 47.64 |
| 18 | Marcellus Dry Gas PA | Fossil fuel operations | United States of America | 47.02 |
| 19 | Venezuela — Maturin — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 46.90 |
| 20 | Nigeria — Niger Delta — Conventional onshore | Fossil fuel operations | Nigeria | 44.66 |
| Top 20 combined | 1,684.0 |