The biggest absolute emissions come from China and the United States. In terms of CO2 emissions per capita, China is ranked only ranked 47th, at 7.5 metric tonnes per capita. The US is ranked 11th at 16.5 per capita and amongst countries with sizeable populations, has the highest CO2 emissions per capita. India is the third highest country in terms of absolute emissions, but only 158th in terms of per capita output with 1.7 metric tonnes per capita.
Selected countries CO2 emissions per capita
What explains variation in CO2 emissions per capita?
- Levels of GDP. Countries with higher real incomes can afford to use more petrol and industrial production which causes pollution. By comparison, the lowest income countries have very limited industrial production and consumption of oil. However, that is only one factor, for example, the Netherlands has double CO2 emissions than France with similar GDP per capita.
- Focus of the economy. Economies based on oil (like Qatar, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates) have the highest levels of CO2 per capita. Qatar has a rate of 45.4 (off the chart) – small population but production based on oil exploration and oil refining.
- Transport policy. Levels of petrol tax and balance of transport modes can influence CO2 emissions. Countries with highest levels of car use lead to more CO2 emissions. (See: relative petrol prices around the world, e.g. compare US with western Europe)
- Policies to reduce CO2 emissions. To meet global warming targets countries have adopted policies, such as carbon tax and regulation to reduce pollution.
- Modes of Power generation. The burning of fossil fuels (e.g. coal-powered electricity stations) is one of biggest causes of CO2 emissions. Countries which gain energy from renewables have lower CO2 emissions per capita.
Changes in CO2 emissions per capita
China’s CO2 emissions per capita have more than tripled in past 15 years.
Highest Total CO2 emissions by country (kT)
The total level of CO2 emission by kilo Tonne.
| 1 | China | 10,291,926 |
| 2 | United States | 5,254,279 |
| 3 | India | 2,238,377 |
| 4 | Russia | 1,705,345 |
| 5 | Japan | 1,214,048 |
| 6 | Germany | 719,883 |
| 7 | Iran. | 649,480 |
| 8 | Saudi Arabia | 601,046 |
| 9 | Korea, Rep. | 587,156 |
| 10 | Canada | 537,193 |
| 11 | Brazil | 529,808 |
| 12 | South Africa | 489,771 |
| 13 | Mexico | 480,270 |
| 14 | Indonesia | 464,176 |
| 15 | United Kingdom | 419,820 |
| 16 | Australia | 361,261 |
| 17 | Turkey | 345,981 |
| 18 | Italy | 320,411 |
Source: World Bank
Lowest CO2 emissions per Capita
By comparison, some of the poorest countries produce practically zero CO2 emissions per capital
| Madagascar | 0.096 |
| Eritrea | 0.089 |
| Niger | 0.089 |
| Malawi | 0.083 |
| Ethiopia | 0.075 |
| Somalia | 0.063 |
| Central African Republic | 0.061 |
| Rwanda | 0.055 |
| Congo, Dem. Rep. | 0.049 |
| Mali | 0.045 |
| Chad | 0.040 |
| Burundi | 0.033 |
| Lesotho | 0.009 |
Readers Question: Why don’t countries use the carbon tax?
- Taxes are generally politically unpopular. A tax on carbon emissions will affect the living costs of many people. This can make the government reluctant to impose the tax.
- There is also the free rider problem. A small country may think – what is the point in introducing carbon tax when their CO2 emissions are dwarfed by other countries like China and the US? Especially, when these bigger countries don’t seem inclined to do too much about the issue.
- There are also differing opinions about the potential cost of CO2 emissions to the environment. In the US, there is a strong lobby which argues global warming is not scientifically proven. Therefore, there is a resistance to impeded CO2 emissions.
- Another factor is that there are significant vested interests in the oil industry / other industries which pollute. They fear CO2 tax will reduce their profitability so they are willing to fight against moves to introduce taxes.
- Another argument used is that a Carbon tax will harm jobs.
Co2 Emissions and global warming
CO2 emissions are widely considered to play a significant role in contributing to global warming.
- Over the past few decades, the level of CO2 in the atmosphere have continued to rise. Scientists say this increase in CO2 has contributed to global warming.
- Global warming has potentially damaging economic consequences with increased weather variability and loss of biodiversity.
- At Kyoto, countries made commitments to target lower CO2 emissions, but these targets have rarely been met. At negotiations, countries collectively agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (which includes Carbon dioxide) by 5.2% on average for the period 2008-2012.
