Global InformationList of countries by carbon dioxide emissions information
This is a list of sovereign states and territories by carbon dioxide emissions[n 1] due to certain forms of human activity, based on the EDGAR database created by European Commission and Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The following table lists the 1970, 1990, 2005, 2017 and 2022 annual CO2 emissions estimates (in kilotons of CO2 per year) along with a list of calculated emissions per capita (in tons of CO2 per year).[4]
The data only consider carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and cement manufacture, but not emissions from land use, land-use change and forestry.[n 2] Over the last 150 years, estimated cumulative emissions from land use and land-use change represent approximately one-third of total cumulative anthropogenic CO2 emissions.[7] Emissions from international shipping or bunker fuels are also not included in national figures,[8] which can make a large difference for small countries with important ports.
In 2022, CO2 emissions from the top 10 countries with the highest emissions accounted for almost two thirds of the global total. Since 2006, China has been emitting more CO2 than any other country.[9][10][11] However, the main disadvantage of measuring total national emissions is that it does not take population size into account. China has the largest CO2 emissions in the world, but also the largest population. Some argue that for a fair comparison, emissions should be analyzed in terms of the amount of CO2 per capita.[12] Their main argument is illustrated by CO2 per capita emissions in 2022, China's levels (8.85) are almost half those of the United States (14.44) and less than a sixth of those of Palau (59.00 – the country with the highest emissions of CO2 per capita).[13][4]
Measures of territorial-based emissions, also known as production-based emissions, do not account for emissions embedded in global trade, where emissions may be imported or exported in the form of traded goods, as it only reports emissions emitted within geographical boundaries. Accordingly, a proportion of the CO2 produced and reported in Asia and Africa is for the production of goods consumed in Europe and North America.[14]
Greenhouse gases (GHG) – primarily carbon dioxide but also others, including methane and chlorofluorocarbons – trap heat in the atmosphere, leading to global warming. Higher temperatures then act on the climate, with varying effects. For example, dry regions might become drier while, at the poles, the ice caps are melting, causing higher sea levels. In 2016, the global average temperature was already 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels.[15]
According to the review of the scientific literature conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon dioxide is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas by warming contribution.[16] The other major anthropogenic greenhouse gases[n 3][17]: 147 [18]) are not included in the following list, nor are humans emissions of water vapor (H2O), the most important greenhouse gases, as they are negligible compared to naturally occurring quantities.[19] Space-based measurements of carbon dioxide should allow independent monitoring in the mid-2020s.[20]
- ^ "Per capita CO₂ emissions" (map). ourworldindata.org. Our World in Data. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Annual CO₂ emissions by world region" (chart). ourworldindata.org. Our World in Data. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ Evans, Simon (5 October 2021). "Analysis: Which countries are historically responsible for climate change? / Historical responsibility for climate change is at the heart of debates over climate justice". CarbonBrief.org. Carbon Brief. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021.
Source: Carbon Brief analysis of figures from the Global Carbon Project, CDIAC, Our World in Data, Carbon Monitor, Houghton and Nassikas (2017) and Hansis et al (2015).
- ^ a b Crippa, M.; Guizzardi, D.; Pagani, F.; Banja, M.; Muntean, M.; Schaaf, E.; Becker, W.; Monforti-Ferrario, F.; Quadrelli, R.; Risquez Martin, A.; Taghavi-Moharamli, P.; Köykkä, J.; Grassi, G.; Rossi, S.; Brandao De Melo, J.; Oom, D.; Branco, A.; San-Miguel, J.; Vignati, E. (2023). GHG emissions of all world countries – 2023. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. doi:10.2760/953322. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ Global Carbon Project (2022) Supplemental data of Global Carbon Budget 2022 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. Global Carbon Project. https://doi.org/10.18160/gcp-2022
- ^ United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. "Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF)". unfccc.int. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ Quesada, Benjamin; Arneth, Almut; Robertson, Eddy; de Noblet-Ducoudré, Nathalie (2018). "Potential strong contribution of future anthropogenic land-use and land-cover change to the terrestrial carbon cycle". Environmental Research Letters. 13 (6). Bibcode:2018ERL....13f4023Q. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aac4c3.
- ^ Schrooten, L; De Vlieger, Ina; Int Panis, Luc; Styns, R. Torfs, K; Torfs, R (2008). "Inventory and forecasting of maritime emissions in the Belgian sea territory, an activity based emission model". Atmospheric Environment. 42 (4): 667–676. Bibcode:2008AtmEn..42..667S. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.09.071. S2CID 93958844.
- ^ "China's Emissions: More Than U.S. Plus Europe, and Still Rising". The New York Times. 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Chinese coal fuels rise in global carbon emissions". The Times. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. "China now no. 1 in CO2 emissions; USA in second position". pbl.nl (in English and Dutch). Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014.
- ^ Roser, Max; Ritchie, Hannah (11 May 2017). "CO2 and other Greenhouse Gas Emissions". Our World in Data. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019.
- ^ Ritchie, Hannah; Roser, Max. "Per capita CO2 emissions". Our World in Data. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ Ritchie, Hannah; Roser, Max. "Consumption-based (trade-adjusted) emissions". Our World in Data. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ Klugman, Cornelia. "The EU, a world leader in fighting climate change". European Parliament Think Tank. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ IPCC (2021). "Summary for Policymakers" (PDF). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (Report). ISBN 978-92-9169-158-6.
- ^ Grubb, M. (July–September 2003). "The economics of the Kyoto protocol" (PDF). World Economics. 4 (3). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011.
- ^ Lerner & K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth (2006). "Environmental issues: essential primary sources". Thomson Gale. Retrieved 11 September 2006.
- ^ "Are our water vapour emissions warming the climate?". Physics World. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ Pan, Guanna; Xu, Yuan; Ma, Jieqi (1 January 2021). "The potential of CO2 satellite monitoring for climate governance: A review". Journal of Environmental Management. 277: 111423. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111423. ISSN 0301-4797. PMID 33031999. S2CID 222237434.
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