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CO2 emissions by country
A recent BBC News article concerning the upcoming climate change summit in Durban, South Africa, which takes place at the end of the month, includes a carbon emissions chart according to countries or political/geographic areas.
The article, by Richard Black, outlines the major conflicts and cleavages between various individual and groups of countries. The large rapidly industrializing BASIC group of Brazil, South Africa, India and China form one bloc with the position that they should be allowed to develop and emit, as they do not have anything near the cumulative, historic emissions of the US and Europe.
The US, Japan, the European Union, Russia and the particularly vulnerable Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) have varying positions of mixed self-interest, climate responsibility, fairness and victimhood.
Working from the standpoint that western nations have a heavy responsibility for climate change because they industrialized first through fossil fuel burning, the experts reviewed various studies on what a fair and equitable allocation of future emissions might look like.
–BBC News
Besides the political and economic arguments, as well as the issue of fairness addressed by Richard Black, what struck me was the emissions chart itself.
There are the current CO2 emissions, with China, the US and the EU way ahead; historic (aggregate before 2006) emissions, which show the US and EU to have emitted nearly 3x more than the next larges emitters; and the per capita emissions, with the Gulf States, the US and Russia in the lead.
Each category provides a different picture. For one, the African Union is counted as single group, as is the European Union. The only Asian countries mentioned are Japan, China and India.
What about non-CO2 greenhouse gases, which put Indonesia as (debatably) the world’s third largest emitter?
And is it fair to emit lots of CO2 as long as you live in a small Gulf State?
All these factors must be taken into account when hammering out any emissions deal, but the biggest factor (for the climate at least) is the global total of greenhouse gas emissions.
For more, check out:
The Energy Collective – Stunning New Carbon Emissions Data
Lead image credit: Matt Lemmon (Flickr CC)
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At least the already-rich countries could set an example, but it’s never enough. This is the trouble with unrestrained growth and capitalism.
already given that the more industrialized and developed country is, surely it will emit great amount of CO2, but enough of pointing fingers. WE are all part of this and have our own fair share of CO2. What those countries produce, we buy … We’re not going to accomplish something constructive, if we will linger on who emits greater or less. we identified the problem, so what now? those considered great emitter for now should be so willing to do as fast as they can to use renewable power resources, let’s stop the attitude of ”you do it first then we will follow’ Let us all do it…Start on yourself