Global breakdown of black carbon emissions 2019, by source

Commercial and residential energy were responsible for 43 percent of global anthropogenic black carbon emissions in 2019. Transportation followed, contributing almost one-quarter of total black carbon emissions that year. Black carbon, commonly known as soot, is a component of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and is produced by incomplete combustion processes such as fossil fuel burning. Black carbon is a powerful climate change driver, with a global warming potential (GWP) up to 1,500 times greater than carbon dioxide per unit of mass.