According to the latest available annual territorial greenhouse-gas emissions…

Concept

Annual total greenhouse-gas emissions measure the gases released within a territory over a year, converted to carbon-dioxide equivalents.

This measure differs from per-capita emissions and cumulative historical emissions; the comparison must use the same annual territorial basis for every country.

Application

The European Commission Joint Research Centre EDGAR 2025 report compares national greenhouse-gas totals through 2024 and lists China first among country emitters.

Among India, China, Russia and the USA, China therefore has the highest annual territorial greenhouse-gas total in the latest comparable dataset.

Contrast

• India is a major and rapidly growing emitter, but it is not the highest country total in the cited annual dataset.

• China has the highest country total in the cited annual dataset.

• Russia is a major emitter, especially through its energy sector, but its country total is below the leading value in the cited dataset.

• The USA has high annual and per-capita emissions, but its current annual country total is below the leading value in the cited dataset.

Cross-check

The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2024 independently shows the same country-level ordering in its 2023 territorial greenhouse-gas data.

Hence, the answer is China.