Environment at a Glance Dashboard

Drivers of emissions vary considerably across countries due to factors such as their level of development, population, natural conditions, available resources and distance to markets, as well as economic sectors, energy sources and land use. Identifying emissions sources and understanding their drivers is critical for developing and implementing effective climate mitigation policies.

Energy accounts for more than three-quarters of emissions globally, prompting many countries to implement mitigation policies in the energy sector. Changes in a country’s energy mix reflect both the factors driving GHG emissions and the impact of policies that encourage a shift towards low-carbon energy sources and enhanced energy efficiency.

Levels of material use reflect the efficiency of resource use in production and consumption. This set of indicators provides insights into the decoupling of material consumption from economic growth and the effectiveness of policies promoting resource productivity and a circular economy across all sectors.

Changes in land cover, livestock and its connected changes in land use affect the physical impacts of climate change on the environment and generate GHG emissions and reduce possible sinks. 

Emissions from the transport sector often reflect broader economic developments and trends in other sectors. Consequently, when assessing the transport sector’s impact on emissions, it is useful to contextualise transport conditions with factors such as a country’s population density.

Economic indicators reflect how effectively economic growth is being decoupled from GHG emissions. Decoupling indicates the successful deployment of clean energy and the enhancement of energy and material efficiency in sustaining economic development, which has traditionally relied on fossil fuels and GHG emissions.