We present a synthesis inversion of CO emissions from various geographical regions and for various source categories for the year 2000 using CO retrievals from the MOPITT (Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere) instrument. We find a large discrepancy between our top-down estimates and recent bottom-up estimates of CO emissions from fossil fuel/biofuel (FFBF) use in Asia. A key conclusion of this study is that CO emissions in East Asia (EAS) are about a factor of 1.8-2 higher than recent bottom-up estimates. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.