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Climate TRACE Releases August 2026 Emissions Data

Oct 29, 2026
Climate TRACE
Data Releases

October 29, 2026 -- Today, Climate TRACE reported that global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the month of August 2026 totaled 4.8 billion tonnes CO₂e. This represents a decrease of 0.3% vs. August 2025. Total global year-to-date emissions are 38.5 billion tonnes CO₂e. This is 0.3% higher than 2025's year-to-date total for the same time period. Global methane emissions in August 2026 were 30.6 million tonnes CH₄, an increase of 0.1% vs. August 2025.

Data tables summarizing GHG and primary particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions totals by sector, country, and the top 100 urban areas for August 2026 are available for download here. CT - Releases - 202610 - VISUALS 1.png CT - Releases - 202610 - VISUALS 2.png CT - Releases - 202610 - VISUALS 3.png

Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Country: August 2026

Climate TRACE's preliminary estimate of August 2026 emissions in China, the world's top emitting country, is 1.4 billion tonnes CO₂e, a decline of 11.1 million tonnes of CO₂e, or 0.8% vs. August 2025.

Of the other top five emitting countries:

  • United States emissions declined by 7.8 million tonnes CO₂e, or 1.4% year over year;

  • India emissions increased by 12.9 million tonnes CO₂e, or 3.6% year over year;

  • Russia emissions declined by 0.1 million tonnes CO₂e, or 0.1% year over year;

  • Indonesia emissions declined by 0.7 million tonnes CO₂e, or 0.5% year over year.
    In the EU, which as a bloc would be the fourth largest source of emissions in August 2026, emissions increased by 1.8 million tonnes CO₂e compared to August 2025, or 0.6%.

Data on all other countries and territories are available in our Country/Territory Inventory.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector: August 2026

CT - Releases - 202610 - VISUALS 4.png CT - Releases - 202610 - VISUALS 5.png

Greenhouse gas emissions increased in August 2026 vs. August 2025 in buildings, power, and waste, and decreased in manufacturing and transportation. Transportation saw the greatest change in emissions year over year, with emissions decreasing by 2.0% as compared to August 2025.

  • Agriculture emissions were 523.7 million tonnes CO₂e, unchanged vs. August 2025;

  • Buildings emissions were 237.9 million tonnes CO₂e, a 0.5% increase vs. August 2025;

  • Fluorinated gases emissions were 145.0 million tonnes CO₂e, unchanged vs. August 2025;

  • Fossil fuel operations emissions were 685.1 million tonnes CO₂e, unchanged vs. August 2025;

  • Manufacturing emissions were 820.9 million tonnes CO₂e, a 0.6% decrease vs. August 2025;

  • Mineral extraction emissions were 15.3 million tonnes CO₂e, unchanged vs. August 2025;

  • Power emissions were 1,432.8 million tonnes CO₂e, a 0.4% increase vs. August 2025;

  • Transportation emissions were 807.7 million tonnes CO₂e, a 2.0% decrease vs. August 2025;

  • Waste emissions were 178.6 million tonnes CO₂e, a 0.6% increase vs. August 2025.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions by City: August 2026

The urban areas with the highest total GHG emissions in August 2026 were Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan; Houston, United States; New York, United States; and Los Angeles, United States.

The urban areas with the greatest increases in absolute emissions in August 2026 as compared to August 2025 were Dortmund, Germany; Jinan, China; Beijing, China; Ramagundam, India; and Lu'an, China. Those with the largest absolute emissions declines between this August and last August were Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Lanshan, China; Zhangjiagang, China; Anshan, China; and Ma'anshan, China.

The urban areas with the greatest increases in emissions as a percentage of their total emissions were Karewa, Cameroon; Macherla, India; Edéa, Cameroon; Daiwan, China; and Tuyên Quang, Vietnam. Those with the greatest decreases by percentage were Jīnchéngjiāng, China; Lufeng, China; Yenakiieve, Ukraine; Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.

RELEASE NOTES Revisions to existing Climate TRACE data are common and expected. They allow us to take the most up-to-date and accurate information into account. As new information becomes available, Climate TRACE will update its emissions totals (which could include historical estimates) to reflect new data inputs, methodologies, and revisions.

With the addition of August 2026 data, the Climate TRACE database is now updated to version V5.12.0. With this release, several sectors updated their methodology and data. In power, electricity generation updated its PM2.5 emissions estimates using uncontrolled US EPA AP-42 emission factors. In agriculture, rice cultivation updated historical country-level emissions to align with FAOSTAT values. In forestry, land-cover types were added using Copernicus Global Land Cover data. Within manufacturing, pulp and paper updated asset classifications, while iron and steel adopted route- and region-specific emissions factors and expanded electricity accounting to include both on-site generation and grid power. In transportation, domestic and international aviation added eight and four new sources, respectively.

A detailed description of data updates is available in our changelog here.

To learn more about what is included in our monthly data releases and for frequently asked questions, click here.

All methodologies for Climate TRACE data estimates are available to view and download here.

For any further technical questions about data updates, please contact: coalition@ClimateTRACE.org.

To sign up for monthly updates from Climate TRACE, click here.

Emissions data for September 2026 are scheduled for release on November 26, 2026.

About Climate TRACE The Climate TRACE coalition was formed by a group of AI specialists, data scientists, researchers, and nongovernmental organizations. Current members include Carbon Yield; Carnegie Mellon University's CREATE Lab; CTrees; Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability; Earth Genome; Former Vice President Al Gore; Global Energy Monitor; Global Fishing Watch/emLab; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab; OceanMind; RMI; TransitionZero; and WattTime. Climate TRACE is also supported by more than 100 other contributing organizations and researchers, including key data and analysis contributors: Arboretica, Michigan State University, Ode Partners, Open Supply Hub, Saint Louis University's Remote Sensing Lab, and University of Malaysia Terengganu. For more information about the coalition and a list of contributors, click here.

Media Contacts Fae Jencks and Josh Petri for Climate TRACE media@climatetrace.org

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