earth science

List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions

List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions rather than just read about it. In short: This is a list of sovereign states and territories by carbon dioxide emissions due to certain forms of human activity, based on the EDGAR database created by the 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.

Key takeaways

List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

This is a list of sovereign states and territories by carbon dioxide emissions due to certain forms of human activity, based on the EDGAR database created by the 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. 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. 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. Emissions from international shipping or bunker fuels are also not included in national figures, which can make a large difference for small countries with important ports. In 2023, global GHG emissions reached 53.0 GtCO2eq (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 MtCO2eq compared to the levels in 2022. The majority of GHG emissions consisted of fossil CO2 accounting for 73.7% of total emissions. China, the United States, India, the European Union, 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 MtCO2eq. 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. 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. 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). 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. 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. 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. The other major anthropogenic greenhouse gases) 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. Space-based measurements of carbon dioxide should allow independent monitoring in the mid-2020s.

Fossil carbon dioxide emissions by country

Fossil CO2 emissions 2023 vs. fossil CO2 emissions per capita 2023

Cumulative fossil CO2 emissions 1970-2023 vs. fossil CO2 emissions 2023

Maps and charts

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions

In research: List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Carbon dioxide, Climate change-related lists, Environment-related lists by country, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions in simple terms?

Why does List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions.