CO2 Page

1 Year of CO2 Daily and Weekly Means – Mauna Loa

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) – Mauna Loa Observatory – gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends – Click the pic to view at source
(URL updated: formerly ESRL/GMD, now GML)

5-Year Global Monthly Mean CO2

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) – Click the pic to view at source

5-Year Mauna Loa Monthly Mean CO2

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) – Click the pic to view at source

7-Year Alert, Canada Daily CO2

ClimateGrog – Greg Goodman – Click the pic to view at source

1996 to Present – Mauna Loa CO2 and Temperature Record Trends

Wood for Trees – Werner Brozek – Hadley/CRU, NOAA GML, NASA GISS, UAH, RSS – Click the pic to view at source

1985 to 2009 – Alert, Canada CO2 Concentrations

⚠ The original CDIAC Alert Canada CO2 chart is no longer available — CDIAC was closed in September 2017. Current Alert station CO2 data is maintained by NOAA GML:

NOAA GML – Alert Station (ALT)

1979 to Present – Global Average CO2 and Growth Rate

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) – Click the pic to view at source

1975 to Present – Mauna Loa CO2 (since 1800)

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) – Click the pic to view at source

1973 to Present – Monthly Mean Carbon Dioxide

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) – Click the pic to view at source

1960 to Present – Mauna Loa CO2 Growth Rate

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) – Click the pic to view at source

1959 to Present – Mauna Loa CO2

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) – Click the pic to view at source

1957 to Present – Mauna Loa Monthly Mean Carbon Dioxide

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) – Click the pic to view at source

1900 to 2011 – Cumulative CO2 Concentration, Anthropogenic Emissions and Temperature

Ferdinand Engelbeen – Mauna Loa, Law Dome, Siple Dome, DOE, Hadley Center – Click the pic to view at source

1850 to Present – Observed Total CO2 Concentration

⚠ The original European Environment Agency (EEA) image (wwws3.eea.europa.eu) is no longer available — that server has been decommissioned. Current EEA CO2 data:

EEA – Atmospheric Greenhouse Gas Concentrations (current)


Paleo CO2 Records:

1830 to Present – Law Dome, Antarctica CO2 Mixing Ratio & 1000 to Present Law Dome CO2

⚠ The original CDIAC Law Dome CO2 charts (cdiac.ornl.gov) are no longer available — CDIAC was closed in 2017. Law Dome and other ice core CO2 data are now archived by NOAA NCEI Paleoclimatology and NOAA GML:

NOAA GML – CO2 History (includes ice core composite)
NOAA NCEI Paleoclimatology – Ice Core Data

1740 to Present – CO2 (University of Washington / Dennis Hartmann)

University of Washington – Department of Atmospheric Sciences – Dennis L. Hartmann – Click the pic to view at source

10,700 Years – GISP2 Temperature with CO2 from EPICA Dome C

climate4you.com – Ole Humlum – Click the pic to view at source

160,000 to 1996 – CO2 Concentration (University of Washington / Dennis Hartmann)

University of Washington – Department of Atmospheric Sciences – Dennis L. Hartmann – Click the pic to view at source

400,000 to Present – Vostok, Antarctica CO2 Concentration

⚠ The original CDIAC Vostok CO2 chart is no longer available. Vostok ice core data is now archived by NOAA NCEI Paleoclimatology:

NOAA NCEI Paleoclimatology – Ice Core Data (Vostok)

1750 to Present – Observed Total CO2 Concentration

⚠ The original EEA (wwws3.eea.europa.eu) image is no longer available. Current data:

EEA – Atmospheric Greenhouse Gas Concentrations (current)


Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions By Source:

1990–2013 – Global Fossil Fuel and Cement Emissions

Geovisualist – Le Quéré et al. 2013, CDIAC – Click the pic to view at source | ▶ Global Carbon Project – current emissions data

1750–2010 – Global CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuels (total & by contributor)

⚠ The original CDIAC fossil fuel emissions charts are no longer available. Current global CO2 emissions data:

Global Carbon Project – Carbon Budget
Our World in Data – CO2 Emissions
IEA – Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy

1950–2010 – Global Per Capita CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuels

⚠ The original CDIAC per-capita emissions charts are no longer available. Current per-capita data:

Our World in Data – Per Capita CO2 Emissions

Cumulative Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuels

CDIAC / Global Carbon Project – Click the pic to view at source | ▶ Global Carbon Project – current cumulative emissions

1950–2010 – Global Per Capita CO2 Contributions By Source

⚠ The original CDIAC carbon budget chart is no longer available. Current carbon budget data:

Global Carbon Project – Carbon Budget (annual)

Note: All historical Land Use based estimates of CO2 contribution should be viewed with a high degree of skepticism. The Houghton land use flux estimates have varied significantly across publications and the methodology relies on reconstructed historical land use statistics.


Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions By Geography/Country:

1965–2013 – CO2 Emissions: Developed vs. Developing World

Ed Hoskins – BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2014 – Click the pic to view at source

1980–2013 – CO2 Emissions and Per Capita: Developed vs. Developing World

Ed Hoskins – BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2014 – Click the pic to view at source

1965–2013 – Cumulative CO2 Emissions: Developed vs. Developing World

Ed Hoskins – BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2014 – Click the pic to view at source

1965–2013 – CO2 Emissions For Selected Countries

Ed Hoskins – BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2014 – Click the pic to view at source

1965–2013 – CO2 Emissions Per Capita For Selected Countries

Ed Hoskins – BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2014 – Click the pic to view at source

1965–2013 – CO2 Emissions Per Capita For Selected Countries (chart 2)

Ed Hoskins – BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2014 – Click the pic to view at source

1965–2013 – Annual CO2 Emissions Growth vs. Total For Selected Countries

Ed Hoskins – BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2014 – Click the pic to view at source


Land Use Change Based CO2 Estimates:

There have been claims that Land Use Changes are a significant source of anthropogenic CO2. However, the following graphs are based upon Houghton et al. data with known limitations, as acknowledged in IPCC AR4. Houghton’s method of reconstructing Land-Use Based Net Flux relies on statistical and historic documents for 9 world regions, and findings have varied significantly between publications (e.g. global total net flux estimates differed substantially between Houghton & Hackler 2001 and Houghton 2008). These estimates should be viewed with appropriate skepticism.

Annual Net Flux to the Atmosphere from Land Use Changes: 1850–2005 (Houghton)

CDIAC / Houghton – Click the pic to view at source | ▶ Global Carbon Project – current land use flux data

Net Flux of Carbon from Land-Use Changes 1850–1990

⚠ The original CDIAC land-use flux chart (cdiac.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ndp050/) is no longer available. Current land-use CO2 flux data is maintained by the Global Carbon Project:

Global Carbon Project – Carbon Budget (includes land use flux)


Source Guide:

BP / Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy
Note: BP’s Statistical Review is now published as the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy.
Home Page – https://www.bp.com/
Energy Institute Review – https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) (formerly ESRL Global Monitoring Division / GMD)
Home Page – https://gml.noaa.gov/
CO2 Trends – https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/
Global CO2 – https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/global.html
CO2 History (ice cores) – https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/history.html

CDIAC – Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (closed September 2017)
Data archived at OSTI/DOE: https://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/
See also: Global Carbon Project

ClimateGrog – Greg Goodman
Home Page – https://climategrog.wordpress.com/

European Environment Agency (EEA)
Home Page – https://www.eea.europa.eu/
Greenhouse Gas Indicators – https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/atmospheric-greenhouse-gas-concentrations

Ferdinand Engelbeen
Home Page – https://www.ferdinand-engelbeen.be/
Climate Page – https://www.ferdinand-engelbeen.be/klimaat/climate.html

Global Carbon Project
Home Page – https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/
Carbon Budget – https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/

NOAA NCEI Paleoclimatology – Ice Core Data
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/paleoclimatology/ice-core

University of Washington – Department of Atmospheric Sciences – Dennis L. Hartmann
Department Home – https://www.atmos.washington.edu/
Dennis Hartmann’s Page – https://www.atmos.washington.edu/~dennis/

Wood for Trees – Interactive Climate Graph Engine
https://www.woodfortrees.org/

climate4you.com – Ole Humlum
https://www.climate4you.com/

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Bernd Niessen
April 4, 2014 5:16 am

Dear
How many percent of the annual co2 is caused by humans?
In many studies i have seen that the rise in temperature proceeds the rise in co2 concentrations, and that there is a timelag of approx 200-800 years
But in the last 100 years we see that co2 levels rise in approx the speed as worlds temperature ( except for the last 15-17 years)
Where is the timelag gone?
Do you have an explanation?
Many thanks

RACookPE1978
Editor
May 31, 2014 10:07 am

Broadly speaking, and we can address the specific changes due to man’s net release of CO2 into the atmosphere a bit later, the following true:
When CO2 levels were steady, global average temperatures rose.
.(But at the same rate they were rising between 1975 – 1996.)
When CO2 levels were steady, temperatures were steady.
When CO2 levels were steady, temperatures fell.
.(Again, at the same rate that they fell between 1945 and 1975.)
When CO2 levels rose, temperatures fell.
When CO2 levels rose, temperatures were steady.
When CO2 levels rose, temperatures rose at the same rate that they rose when CO2 levels were steady.

Bill Illis
June 14, 2014 7:14 am

I have been maintaining a database of all CO2 estimates through geologic time from all studies which make the data available and are not just cherrypicking one date or three dates but provide at least ten estimates over some period (there is a huge amount of cherrypicking in climate science and especially with respect to CO2 levels).
There are a few methodologies which appear to be unreliable (producing unrealistically low estimates and unrealistically high ones that I have discarded – these are Paleosols/Pedogenic Carbonates, Boron and Tex-86 isotope calibrated estimates).
So here is ALL of the 2,700 reliable estimates of CO2 over the last 750 million years and for higher resolution, last 270, 40 and 8 million years.
http://s12.postimg.org/kuw5mqdst/CO2_LAST_750_Mys.png
http://s13.postimg.org/7jhm9tj9j/CO2_Last_270_Mya.png
http://s10.postimg.org/5fz8g5a3d/CO2_Last_40_Mys.png
http://s17.postimg.org/fwhaavhz3/CO2_Sea_Level_Last_8_Mya.png
The sources for these charts are all the estimates (excluding a few unreliable methods) from Berner GeoCarb III, Pagani 2005, Antarctic Ice Core Composite, Pagani 1999, Royer 2006 Composites, Pearson 2000, IPCC AR4 2007 – Royer 2008 Composites, Pearson 2009, Tripati 2009, Bao 2008, Hoenisch 2009, Beerling Royer 2011, Bartoli 2011, Seki 2010, Mcanena 2013

CMS
July 13, 2014 12:07 pm
Darren Potter
August 2, 2014 8:37 pm

Bernd Niessen – “How many percent of the annual co2 is caused by humans?”
The following may answer your question:
” Man’s CO2 output per year is less than three percent of the totals released by the combination of all natural forces and man — about 803 billion tons.”
“Man-made carbon dioxide emissions throughout human history constitute less than 0.00022 percent of the total naturally emitted from the mantle of the earth during geological history.”
Man-made CO2 accounts for 0.12% to Green House Gas effect, with Mother Nature accounts for 3.50%. Water Vapor (both man and mother nature) accounts for 95.00%.

Ali Bertarian
Reply to  Darren Potter
April 25, 2015 5:01 am

Do you have sources for the 95% H2O, & 3.62% CO2 figures that pro-AGW people would accept?

Darren Potter
August 2, 2014 8:51 pm

“But in the last 100 years we see that co2 levels rise in approx the speed as worlds temperature ( except for the last 15-17 years).” “Where is the timelag gone?”
Quite possibly time lag is still there.
What we may be seeing now with some of the rise in CO2 levels is fallout of warming that occurred during MWP (about AD 950 to 1250).
2014 AD – 18-years = 1996 AD
“Warmer periods of the Earth’s history came around 800 years before rises in CO2 levels.”
1996 AD – 800-years = 1196 AD.
With the warming we experienced 17-years ago, we may see an increase in CO2 levels in 783 years.

Phil's Dad
Reply to  Darren Potter
August 18, 2020 8:25 pm

That I would like to see

Michael D
August 2, 2014 11:12 pm

This is a very helpful page.
I’d like to request one new plot please: Please show the total carbon at Mauna Lea, as a function of time just like NOAA but with the y-axis extending down to zero. This will help us visualize the increase in CO2 as a percentage of total CO2. Thanks.

August 3, 2014 1:47 am

Various statements have been made here and there that human activity, such as power generation, transportation, and industrial process, add up to about 3% of new CO2 emissions per year. Supposedly there are half a dozens or so larger sources (e.g. volcanoes, insect life, ocean expiration). If there are any reasonable sources for this kind of information, charts or links would be quite interesting. A CO2 fact page that focuses solely on human activity contributions gives as biased a view as those claims that only human activity is responsible for climate changes.

Bernd niessen
August 3, 2014 2:15 am

Thanks a lot for the answers
Is there a way to measure the part of the man made co2 content in the present atmosphere?

lgl
August 3, 2014 3:10 am

Great, thanks, but the forcing is the important one, not the concentration.

Bernd niessen
August 3, 2014 3:42 am

What exact forcing do you mean?
Water vapor cant be because there is no increase in the lower tropisphere humidity as far as i know
In the higher elevations the water vapor concentration is even going down for years
Gr

Ed, Mr. Jones
August 3, 2014 8:11 am

AndyH sez:
“Various statements have been made here and there that human activity, such as power generation, transportation, and industrial process, add up to about 3% of new CO2 emissions per year. Supposedly there are half a dozens or so larger sources (e.g. volcanoes, insect life, ocean expiration). If there are any reasonable sources for this kind of information, charts or links would be quite interesting. A CO2 fact page that focuses solely on human activity contributions gives as biased a view as those claims that only human activity is responsible for climate changes.”
AGREED!

Editor
August 3, 2014 8:19 am

Bill Illis says:
June 14, 2014 at 7:14 am

So here is ALL of the 2,700 reliable estimates of CO2 over the last 750 million years and for higher resolution, last 270, 40 and 8 million years.
http://s12.postimg.org/kuw5mqdst/CO2_LAST_750_Mys.png
http://s13.postimg.org/7jhm9tj9j/CO2_Last_270_Mya.png
http://s10.postimg.org/5fz8g5a3d/CO2_Last_40_Mys.png
http://s17.postimg.org/fwhaavhz3/CO2_Sea_Level_Last_8_Mya.png

Interesting graphs. Two notes:
One for the last million years would help show the recent glaciation cycle.
Typo on all graphs – “unrealiable” should be “unreliable”. Or maybe “unrealistic”. Lewis Carroll would like it though.

Editor
August 3, 2014 8:26 am

Typo on the reference page, Teperature -> Temperature:
10,700 years – GISP2 – Teperature with CO2 from EPICA DomeC
[Done. Thank you. .mod]

Bob Shapiro
August 3, 2014 8:45 am

In the chart labeled “160,000 to 1996 CO2 Concentration”, is it proper to display low resolution ice core info together with high resolution instrument readings in the same chart? As I understand it, a higher resolution source always will show much higher volatility of readings. Since we currently are in a CO2 upswing, this guarantees a hockey stick.

rogerknights
August 27, 2014 8:38 am

I suggest including charts of methane too.

January 4, 2015 8:58 am

Darren Potter
August 2, 2014 at 8:37 pm
Bernd Niessen – “How many percent of the annual co2 is caused by humans?”
The following may answer your question:
” Man’s CO2 output per year is less than three percent of the totals released by the combination of all natural forces and man — about 803 billion tons.”
“Man-made carbon dioxide emissions throughout human history constitute less than 0.00022 percent of the total naturally emitted from the mantle of the earth during geological history.”
Man-made CO2 accounts for 0.12% to Green House Gas effect, with Mother Nature accounts for 3.50%. Water Vapor (both man and mother nature) accounts for 95.00%.

How much of atmospheric CO2 & water vapor is from human resperation?

Reply to  Slywolfe
January 4, 2015 8:59 am

“respiration”

Mariwarcwm
January 14, 2015 11:31 am

Watching Jaws iii earlier this week, I wondered what CO2 levels were during the Dinosaur era as those animals would have needed a lot of vegetation to keep their vast bodies nourished. The herbivores would need huge plants to eat and would in turn feed vast herbivores. I was pleased to find your charts, and discover that CO2 levels during their existence was between 1,570ppm and 520ppm roughly, but dropped below 500ppm at about the time of their disappearance. There must have been a reduction in scale of all life, all life being dependent on CO2. Life continued on a smaller scale and will no doubt do so again?

TonyN
Reply to  Mariwarcwm
August 29, 2015 7:34 am

Could it be, that the earth’s atmospheric pressure was much higher than it is today? The consequences for all living things would be profound.

Mariwarcwm
Reply to  TonyN
September 1, 2015 2:24 am

I don’t know about atmospheric pressure, but the very generous amount of CO2 would certainly have supplied abundant plant food, and therefore the size of the animals that grazed on them. It was also a warmer wetter world with no ice at the poles. I have never seen anyone comment on that connection, nor on the likelyhood that a dropping of the amount of CO2 would lead to smaller plants and animals. It seems obvious to me.

Gregory Lawn
June 26, 2015 2:12 pm

What of the argument by AGW advocates that the release of CO2 by human activity exceeds the increase CO2 in the past century, therefore the entire recent increase is due to man? I am suspicious of the logic in this claim.

February 22, 2016 12:06 am

Uggh, human emissions which are apparently responsible for the consistent increase.. have never matched CO2 growth.
The very equations relate surface emissions to CO2 growth surely.. yet CO2 growth does what it does regardless of our emissions.
We cant be a driver yet not affect CO2 growth with huge increases in emissions?
Of course the increase in CO2 being blamed on humans is an assumption with no empirical support, how could there be if no one actually can monitor CO2.
The budget balance of nature.. if on balance, means we drive increases, yet CO2 growth has never matched our growing emissions.
Strange, that this whole mess got so much traction based purely on an assumption based on a very loose short term correlation

Nelson Smith
October 23, 2016 7:52 am

Looks like CO2 concentrations in 2020 will be below all predictions by IPCC. Hat tip: US frackers
https://twitter.com/NelsonDaleSmith/status/790201772186886145

November 15, 2016 11:57 am

On further review not sure if my graph above is accurate. The the RCP’s are based on total greenhouse gases not just CO2. I have not yet seen any about how this is calculated.

J Moscati
March 8, 2017 12:05 pm

Is there an accepted conversion factor for atmospheric ppm CO2 and metric tons C? We routinely see emmisions measured in metric tons, and changes in atmosheric CO2 expressed in ppm, but no explanation of how much carbon, by mass, is represented by a given atmospheric concentration. Without this conversion its impossible to tell if the roughly 8k to 10k metric tons per year from fossil fuels accounts for all of the annual increase in CO2, or only a fraction?

Reply to  J Moscati
January 18, 2018 10:47 am

Good question, and it has a precise answer:
1 Gt Carbon= 1/2.12= 0.47ppm CO2
1 tonne Carbon=3.66 tonne CO2
1 GtCO2 emission =0.127 PPM of CO2 rise in atmosphere
https://onlineconversion.vbulletin.net/forum/main-forums/convert-and-calculate/11072-convert-gtco2-to-ppm-rise-in-atmosphere
That means that the 10 to 12 GT Carbon would have given 4.7 to 5.6 ppm CO2 rise in the atmosphere if all had stayed there, but since more than 50% goes to the ocean and plants, we only have about 2 ppm rise in the atmosphere.

September 1, 2017 4:25 am

What caused the periodic sharp increases in CO2 and temperature in prehistoric times? A new theory has been investigated at this website:
https://www.harrytodd.org