Carbon Budget Remaining Calculator
Estimate the remaining global carbon budget for a target temperature limit based on current emission rates.
Gt CO2
Gt CO2/yr
years
Budget Remaining
260 Gt CO2
Years Until Exhausted6.5 years
Budget Already Used48.0 %
Budget Remaining vs Years Elapsed Since 2020
The Global Carbon Budget
The carbon budget is the total amount of CO2 that can still be emitted while keeping global warming below a specific temperature target.
Formula
Remaining Budget = Total Budget - (Annual Emissions x Years Elapsed)
Years Left = Remaining Budget / Annual Emissions
The IPCC estimates that for a 50% chance of staying below 1.5°C, the remaining budget from 2020 was about 500 Gt CO2. At current rates of ~40 Gt/year, this budget is rapidly shrinking.
Example Calculation
Starting budget of 500 Gt CO2 from 2020 with 40 Gt/year emissions, 6 years later.
- 01CO2 used = 40 x 6 = 240 Gt CO2
- 02Remaining = 500 - 240 = 260 Gt CO2
- 03Years left = 260 / 40 = 6.5 years
- 04Budget used = 240 / 500 x 100 = 48.0%