List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions

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 annual CO₂ emissions estimates (in kilotons of CO₂ per year) for the year 2023, as well as the change from the year 2000.^[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 2023, global GHG emissions reached 53.0 Gt_CO2eq (without Land Use, land Use Change and Forestry). The 2023 data represent the highest level recorded and experienced an increase of 1.9% or 994 Mt_CO2eq compared to the levels in 2022. The majority of GHG emissions consisted of fossil CO₂ accounting for 73.7% of total emissions.^[4]

China, the United States, India, the EU27, Russia and Brazil were the world’s largest GHG emitters in 2023. Together they account for 49.8% of global population, 63.2% of global gross domestic product, 64.2% of global fossil fuel consumption and 62.7% of global GHG emissions. Among these top emitters, in 2023 China, India, Russia and Brazil increased their emissions compared to 2022, with India having the largest increase in relative terms (+ 6.1%) and China the largest absolute increase by 784 Mt_CO2eq.^[4]

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 second 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 2023, China's levels (9.24) are almost two thirds those of the United States (13.83) and less than a sixth of those of Palau (62.59 – the country with the highest emissions of CO₂ per capita).^[4][13]

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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