Overview

The Global Carbon Budget is a long-running benchmark series that provides a consistent, science-based framework for tracking global carbon dioxide flows across the atmosphere, land, and oceans. Initiated in 2005, the series is updated annually to support comparable analysis over time.

Purpose

The purpose of the benchmark is to establish a reliable reference for understanding how human activities interact with natural carbon systems. It supports longitudinal assessment by applying stable definitions, system boundaries, and transparent methodological updates across each edition.

Methodology

The series synthesises data from multiple sources, including energy statistics, land-use datasets, atmospheric observations, and Earth system models. Harmonised methods are applied to estimate emissions, natural carbon uptake, and carbon cycle balances, with documented revisions to reflect advances in data and modelling.

Use for finance professionals

Finance professionals use this benchmark to inform climate risk analysis, scenario modelling, transition assessment, and alignment with climate-related frameworks. It provides a neutral, economy-wide evidence base for portfolio analysis, policy context setting, and long-term climate planning without prescribing outcomes.