Who has contributed most to global CO2 emissions?

Since 1751 the world has emitted over 1.5 trillion tonnes of CO₂. To reach our climate goal of limiting average temperature rise to 2°C, the world needs to urgently reduce emissions. 

 

 

• the United States has emitted more CO₂ than any other country to date: at around 400 billion tonnes since 1751, it is responsible for 25% of historical emissions;
• this is twice more than China – the world’s second-largest national contributor;
• the 28 countries of the European Union (EU-28) – which are grouped together as they typically negotiate and set targets on a collaborative basis – is also a large historical contributor at 22%;
• many of the large annual emitters today – such as India and Brazil – are not large contributors in a historical context;
• Africa’s regional contribution – relative to its population size – has been very small. This is the result of very low per capita emissions – both historically and currently.

 

Source: WorldInData

 

 

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