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]
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![Historical greenhouse gas emissions 1990-2018 from Climate Watch[21]](/en/File:Historical_Greenhouse_Gas_Emissions_from_Climate_Watch.png)
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