Indonesia's Carbon Emission History 2016-2023 According to the World Bank

According to World Bank data processed by The Global Economy, Indonesia's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fluctuated between 2016 and 2023.

In 2016, the volume was 507 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (Mt CO2 eq). The volume then consistently increased until 2019, reaching 637 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Emissions finally dropped significantly in 2020 to 594 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, presumably due to restrictions on activity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, carbon emissions increased again. The latest figure in 2023 was 675 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, up from 657 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2022.

The Global Economy considers this volume high. For comparison, the global average is 198 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, based on data from 189 countries.

Historically, from 1970 to 2023, the research team calculated Indonesia's average emissions at 283 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

"The minimum value of 31 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent was recorded in 1970, while the maximum value of 675 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent was reached in 2023," wrote The Global Economy, as quoted on Thursday (August 28, 2025).

The Global Economy notes that the annual measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, one of the six greenhouse gases (GHGs) according to the Kyoto Protocol, originates from the agriculture, energy, waste, and industrial sectors, excluding LULUCF (Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry).

The unit of measurement (Mt CO2 eq) is a measure of all greenhouse gases converted into CO2 equivalent impact. The value is reported in million tonnes.