Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions data sources
Several global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions datasets are available, but they differ in their coverage, scope and methodology. Some, such as EDGAR, estimate emissions using modelling approaches based on economic activity and emission factors. Others, including PRIMAP-hist and Climate Watch, combine multiple data sources and apply gap-filling methods to construct complete national emissions time series (Cárdenas Rodríguez et al., 2024[6]).
To maximise consistency between emissions data and national emission reduction targets, this webbook relies primarily on official national GHG inventories reported under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These inventories are prepared according to IPCC guidelines and provide the official basis for countries’ territorial emissions reporting. However, reporting is incomplete for some countries and years, particularly for some major emerging economies and OECD partner countries.
To construct a complete and comparable dataset covering 1990-2024, the OECD Secretariat combines official inventory data with transparent estimates for missing years. Official national inventories are used when available. Missing observations are estimated using sector-specific proxy indicators, from authoritative international datasets and observed changes in these variables, following IPCC good-practice principles. This approach preserves reported national inventory data while providing consistent geographical and temporal coverage.
This methodology represents an evolution from previous editions of the Climate Action Monitor, which relied primarily on PRIMAP-hist to fill gaps in national emissions series. The revised approach strengthens consistency with officially reported national inventories and increases transparency in the construction of country-level estimates. Further information on data coverage, estimation methods and proxy variables is provided in Annex A.
Treatment of land use, land-use change and forestry
Land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) poses an additional challenge. To maintain consistency with national emission reduction targets and UNFCCC reporting, country-level estimates in this report use official national inventory data, including countries’ national reported LULUCF emissions and removals.
Global mitigation pathways estimates, including those assessed by the IPCC, however, may instead rely on global land-use models, including bookkeeping models and Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs). These approaches use accounting conventions that differ from national inventories and can therefore produce substantially different estimates of land-sector carbon fluxes. For example, global model- and inventory-based estimates differed by around 7 GtCO₂ in 2021 (UNEP, 2023), with national inventories often reporting a larger net carbon sink than estimates derived from global models (Nabuurs et al., 2022; Grassi et al., 2025).
Accordingly, all country-level emissions estimates in this report use official national inventories, including reported LULUCF. Where global aggregates rely on bookkeeping models or other global land-use modelling approaches, this is explicitly indicated.
GHG Emission Trends and Targets (GETT) indicators
This edition introduces updated visualisations of the GETT indicators. The presentation has been revised to facilitate interpretation; the underlying methodology remains unchanged:
NDC Delivery Gap: This visualisation presents the distance-to-target indicator (Pizarro et al., 2024[5]) for the period between 2023 and 2030. It compares countries’ GHG emissions in 2023 with the level implied by a linear emissions trajectory from 2019 to their 2030 NDC target. It therefore indicates whether current emissions are above or below the trajectory consistent with achieving the 2030 target and 2035 target, and by how much.
2050 Target Consistency Gap: This visualisation assesses the consistency between countries’ 2030 NDC targets and their longer-term emission reduction objectives (Pizarro et al., 2024[5]). It compares the emissions level implied by 2030 and 2035 NDCs with a linear pathway towards their 2050 emission target or an interpolated 2050 level where the long-term target falls after 2050, such as 2060. The indicator therefore shows the extent to which current NDC ambition is aligned with longer-term national climate objectives.
Climate-related hazard indicators
The OECD and the International Energy Agency jointly developed a set of historical indicators to monitor the exposure of people and assets – including population, croplands, built-up areas and forests – to climate-related hazards. The framework covers seven hazard types: extreme temperature, extreme precipitation, drought, wildfire, wind threats, river flooding and coastal flooding (Maes et al., 2022[2]).
The methodology has been extended to develop forward-looking indicators of exposure to three hazard types: extreme temperature, extreme precipitation and drought (Maes et al., 2025[3]). Based on projected data from the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal, it uses multi-model ensembles comprising 30 different climate models and across a range of Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) over the period from 2015-2100. These indicators of exposure to climate-related hazards are available for all countries globally at the national level and, for OECD members and partner countries, at the subnational level.
Chapter 2 provides an overview of major climate-related hazards trends, complemented by a more detailed analysis of extreme temperature and drought, their growing frequency, severity and cascading impacts.
Climate Actions and Policies Measurement Framework (CAPMF)
The CAPMF is a climate policy database that tracks policies and policy instruments across countries. It provides harmonised information on countries’ climate mitigation policies. Its scope has progressively expanded and now covers 86 policy variables across a broad range of sectors and policy instruments.
Recent additions include policies addressing waste and agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU), climate-related finance, subsidies for low-carbon technologies, including tax credits for renewables, regulatory instruments, information tools and green public procurement policies.
The CAPMF has also expanded its geographic coverage from 97 to 127 countries. Newly covered countries include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vanuatu.
The CAPMF covers many other non-OECD economies and all OECD members except the United States. Data are drawn from international sources including the OECD and its Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Transport Forum (ITF) and the World Bank, and are complemented by contributions from partner organisations such as the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).
