CO2 intensity

Global CO₂ intensity rebounded in 2024 (+1.7%), even slower than in 2020.

In 2024, the global CO₂ intensity (CO₂ emissions per unit of constant GDP) rebounded by 1.7%, contrasting with a 1% drop in 2023 and an average 2.2%/year decline over the 2010-2019 period. In 2024, it stood 24% below its 2010 level.
This rebound is due to a significant slowdown in improvements in the USA (-3% in 2024 after -6% in 2023) and in Europe (-4% after -9% in 2023), closer to their 2010-2019 average trend, even if their energy intensity has decreased by more than 40% since 2010 and remains well below the global average (-19% and -54%, respectively). CO₂ intensity dipped in China (-2.5% vs. -4%/year over 2010-2019, still 68% above the global average) and in India (-1%, still 15% above the global average) whereas it increased in Indonesia (+3%), Vietnam (+6%) and South Africa (+4%).
Higher renewable power generation contributed to cut the CO₂ intensity in the US, Canada (-2.5%), Brazil (-2%), and Japan (-2%), while CO₂ intensity declined in Russia amidst strong economic growth (-3%, still 63% above the global average) and in South Korea over higher nuclear and solar generation (-5%). On the contrary, the higher availability of coal-fired power plants contributed to raise South Africa’s CO₂ intensity by 4% in 2024.