Historical energy statistics from publications by Etemad et al. (1991) and Mitchell (1983-1995) enable fossil fuel CO2 emission estimates back to 1751. The dataset, compiled by Thomas A. Boden of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, integrates production and trade data for coal, brown coal, peat, and crude oil, with post-1950 data primarily from United Nations energy statistics. CO2 emissions from cement production and gas flaring are also estimated using data from the U.S. Geological Survey and other sources.
Use Cases
- Modeling long-term national carbon budgets based on historical fossil fuel production and trade data.
- Analyzing trends in global and regional CO2 emissions from coal, oil, and gas combustion over centuries.
- Validating climate policy scenarios using historical emission estimates derived from U.N. and national statistics.
Strengths
- Emission estimates extend back to 1751, providing a long historical time series.
- Integrates data from multiple authoritative sources, including U.N. statistics and historical compilations.
- Covers emissions from major fossil fuels (coal, oil) as well as cement production and gas flaring.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
Provenance
- Source
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Thomas A. Boden), integrating data from Etemad et al., Mitchell, United Nations, and U.S. Geological Survey.
- Collection Method
- Digitization of historical production and trade statistics, with CO2 emission calculations following Marland and Rotty (1984) and Boden et al. (1995) methodologies.
- Time Range
- 1751 to present (as of source publication).
- Geography
- Global, regional, and national coverage.