Global greenhouse gas budgets

Keeping track of the world's emissions

The Global Carbon Project’s budgets provide a picture of the global cycle of the three greenhouse gases that contribute most to human-induced global warming - carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.

To curb human-induced climate change, governments, industries and the community need comprehensive information about the processes responsible for the emission and absorption of greenhouse gases, and what remains in the atmosphere. 

The Global Carbon Project is meeting this need by developing global budgets that provide a complete picture of the cycles (including natural and human drivers) of the main greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O). These are the three greenhouse gases that contribute most to human-induced global warming.

The Global Carbon Project is a Global Research Project of Future Earth and a research partner of the World Climate Research Programme. It was formed to work with the international science community to establish a common and mutually agreed knowledge base to support policy debate and action to slow down and ultimately stop the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Dozens of research institutions around the world voluntarily contribute to the various budget efforts to updated them and improve the underlaying scientific rigour. CSIRO is proud to contribute and provide leadership on these efforts, in addition to hosting the International Global Carbon Project Office. 

The global greenhouse gas budgets are published regularly through scientific papers that outline the methodologies and data used for transparency and traceability, along with key messages. The research detailed in these papers is based on emissions from multiple national and global inventories, a diverse modelling capability covering land, oceans, and atmosphere, and various approaches for future projections.