China emits more carbon dioxide than the United States, but it emits less per person. That should teach us something about the most populated countries in the world today: India and China.Ĭhina and India do contribute a large and growing share of global emissions - which absolutely needs to be slowed down and reversed - but most of the warming we’re seeing now is due to the emissions of wealthier countries like the United States. You can see the United Kingdom drop down the rankings as its empire disintegrated over the years, losing an economic grip on the world, for example. Instead, most of the chart toppers are the largest economic powers. The graph also shows us that the worst greenhouse gas emitters of all time aren’t the most populous countries. 3) Carbon intensity matters more than population for cumulative emissions However, US energy consumption hit a record high last year, and emissions are on the rise again after years of decline. Between 20, US emissions fell 11.5 percent, largely due to switching to less carbon-intensive fuels like natural gas. And with great emissions comes great responsibility to mitigate climate change.Īnd yes, the US has already made some of the largest cuts to its greenhouse gas emissions of any country in the world. In other words, the largest share of global greenhouse gases emitted since the Industrial Revolution comes from the US. When it comes to total greenhouse gas emissions, the US does a behind-the-back, through-the-legs, backboard-breaking dunk over China and the Soviet Union. 2) The US has an outsized role in global warming, despite recent progress If we were to magically cease emitting all greenhouse gases at once, the planet would likely continue warming for a period of time. That means a big chunk of the greenhouse gases emitted at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution is still heating up our planet today. While atmospheric carbon is gradually absorbed by the ocean and plants, a large fraction, about 20 percent, lingers for millennia. It’s not simply the rate of our output of heat-trapping gases that changes the global climate the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted is a critical factor as well. Here are some takeaways from this animation: 1) Cumulative emissions are the critical factor behind the warming we’re experiencing Their populations are also much bigger than the US and other wealthier countries, so the amount that India and China emit per person is vastly smaller than the United States or the United Kingdom. But these countries have a much smaller share of cumulative global emissions. China now emits more than the US, and India’s emissions are rapidly rising. Yet the US is now the only country aiming to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. And as the top cumulative emitter, the US bears a greater imperative for curbing its carbon dioxide output and a greater moral responsibility for the impacts of global warming. Much more drastic steps are now needed to slow climate change. These relatively small steps now cannot offset more than a century of reckless emissions that have built up in the atmosphere. That’s true, despite recent gains in energy efficiency and cuts in emissions. What’s abundantly clear is that the United States of America is the all-time biggest, baddest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet. Animation: The countries with the largest cumulative CO2 emissions since 1750ġ0) PL – 27 /cKRNKO4O0b- Carbon Brief April 23, 2019
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