Who is to blame for the high level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere? It depends from which angle you look at the question.
Who is the biggest polluter?
Depends how you ask
Who has emitted the most CO2 since the industrial revolution?
U.S.
China
U.K.
India
Who is currently emitting the most CO2?
Where are the largest emissions per person?
Who has emitted the most CO2 since the industrial revolution?
U.S.
China
U.K.
India
Who is currently emitting the most CO2?
Where are the largest emissions per person?
Who has emitted the most CO2 since the industrial revolution?
U.S.
China
U.K.
India
Who is currently emitting the most CO2?
Where are the largest emissions per person?
The United States and China are right at the top for both historic and current absolute emissions, but China drops down the rankings if you look at per capita emissions, according to figures from Our World in Data.
This is not just a question of scientific data but also of money. Poorer countries argue richer countries should help to pay for their energy transition. They say that developed countries, which have spent nearly 200 years burning fossil fuels to grow their economies, should quit fossil fuels first and help emerging economies make investments in green energy to avoid following that same path.
So far, rich nations have not yet honoured their pledges to deliver “climate finance” to poorer countries, who also argue more funding should be made available for loss and damages on their territory caused by climate change. These questions have become a major sticking point in climate talks including the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
When did the polluting begin?
The industrial revolution began around 1750 in the United Kingdom, which emitted 3.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the next 100 years. That’s just 5% of CO2 the country has polluted over time.
1750
1800
Britain was the largest polluter of CO2 until 1911 when the United States took the top spot in terms of cumulative emissions.
1850
1900
1950
2000
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
trillion tonnes of CO2
Where and when did the polluting begin?
The industrial revolution began around 1750 in the United Kingdom, which emitted 3.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the next 100 years. That’s just 5% of CO2 the country has polluted over time.
1750
1800
Britain was the largest polluter of CO2 until 1911 when the United States took the top spot in terms of cumulative emissions.
1850
1900
1950
2000
1.0
0 trillion tonnes of CO2
0.5
1.5
Where and when did the polluting begin?
The industrial revolution began around 1750 in the United Kingdom, which emitted 3.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the next 100 years. That’s just 5% of CO2 the country has polluted over time.
1750
1800
Britain was the largest polluter of CO2 until 1911 when the United States took the top spot in terms of cumulative emissions.
1850
1900
1950
2000
0 trillion tonnes of CO2
0.5
1.0
1.5
Where and when did the polluting begin?
The industrial revolution began around 1750 in the United Kingdom, which emitted 3.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the next 100 years. That’s just 5% of CO2 the country has polluted over time.
1750
1800
Britain was the largest polluter of CO2 until 1911 when the United States took the top spot in terms of cumulative emissions.
1850
1900
1950
2000
1.0
0 trillion tonnes of CO2
0.5
1.5
Where and when did the polluting begin?
The industrial revolution began around 1750 in the United Kingdom, which emitted 3.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the next 100 years. That’s just 5% of CO2 the country has polluted over time.
1750
1800
1850
Britain was the largest polluter of CO2 until 1911 when the
United States took the top spot in terms of cumulative emissions.
1900
1950
2000
1.0
0 trillion tonnes of CO2
0.5
1.5
The cumulative perspective shows how some countries, even if they currently emit a lot of greenhouse gases, have a relatively small overall responsibility for climate change when compared with the historical big emitters.
The biggest polluter changes if we ask the question another way
Who has polluted the most since the industrial revolution?
The United States tops the list of countries that have emitted the biggest amount of carbon dioxide in total since the industrial revolution. China’s tally of emissions since then only comes to about half that of the United States.
1750-2020 CO2 EMISSIONS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
U.S.
China
Russia
Germany
U.K.
Japan
India
France
Canada
Ukraine
Countries emitting small amounts of CO2 and other areas of emissions
Who is currently emitting the most CO2?
Asking for a country’s current emissions per year is a common way of trying to determine who is the biggest emitter. From this angle, China outranks all other countries and the United States slips into second place.
India jumps to 3rd place with 7% percent of global CO2 emissions in 2020.
2020 CO2 EMISSIONS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
China
India
U.S.
Iran
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Indonesia
Where are the largest emissions per person?
The list gets shaken up if we ask for a country’s current emissions per person, with Qatar skyrocketing to the top spot.
The United States drops to 13th place and China drifts even further down the list to 41st place.
India, a big polluter in terms of absolute annual emissions, falls to 131st place because of its vast population – many of whom have no access to power at all.
CO2 EMISSIONS PER CAPITA
0 tonnes
250
500
750
1,000
Qatar
New Caledonia
Mongolia
Trinidad and Tobago
Brunei
Kuwait
Bahrain
Curacao
Saudi Arabia
Kazakhstan
U.S.
Canada
South Korea
Russia
Japan
Germany
China
Ukraine
U.K.
France
Indonesia
India
Who has polluted the most since the industrial revolution?
The United States tops the list of countries that have emitted the biggest amount of carbon dioxide in total since the industrial revolution. China’s tally of emissions since then only comes to about half that of the United States.
1750-2020 CO2 EMISSIONS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
U.S.
China
Russia
Germany
U.K.
Japan
India
France
Canada
Ukraine
Countries emitting small amounts of CO2 and other areas of emissions
Who is currently emitting the most CO2?
Asking for a country’s current emissions per year is a common way of trying to determine who is the biggest emitter. From this angle, China outranks all other countries and the United States slips into second place.
India jumps to 3rd place with 7% percent of global CO2 emissions in 2020.
2020 CO2 EMISSIONS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
China
India
U.S.
Iran
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Indonesia
Where are the largest emissions per person?
The list gets shaken up if we ask for a country’s current emissions per person, with Qatar skyrocketing to the top spot.
The United States drops to 13th place and China drifts even further down the list to 41st place.
India, a big polluter in terms of absolute annual emissions, falls to 131st place because of its vast population – many of whom have no access to power at all.
CO2 EMISSIONS PER CAPITA
0 tonnes
250
500
750
1,000
Qatar
New Caledonia
Mongolia
Trinidad and Tobago
Brunei
Kuwait
Bahrain
Curacao
Saudi Arabia
Kazakhstan
U.S.
Canada
South Korea
Russia
Japan
Germany
China
Ukraine
U.K.
France
Indonesia
India
Who has polluted the most since the industrial revolution?
The United States tops the list of countries that have emitted the biggest amount of carbon dioxide in total since the industrial revolution. China’s tally of emissions since then only comes to about half that of the United States.
1750-2020 CO2 EMISSIONS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
U.S.
Russia
Germany
U.K.
France
Canada
China
Japan
India
Ukraine
Countries emitting small amounts of CO2 and other areas of emissions
Who is currently emitting the most CO2?
Asking for a country’s current emissions per year is a common way of trying to determine who is the biggest emitter. From this angle, China outranks all other countries and the United States slips into second place.
India jumps to 3rd place with 7% percent of global CO2 emissions in 2020.
2020 CO2 EMISSIONS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
China
India
U.S.
Iran
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Indonesia
Where are the largest emissions per person?
The list gets shaken up if we ask for a country’s current emissions per person, with Qatar skyrocketing to the top spot.
The United States drops to 13th place and China drifts even further down the list to 41st place.
India, a big polluter in terms of absolute annual emissions, falls to 131st place because of its vast population – many of whom have no access to power at all.
CO2 EMISSIONS PER CAPITA
0 tonnes
250
500
750
1,000
Qatar
New Caledonia
Mongolia
Trinidad and Tobago
Brunei
Kuwait
Bahrain
Curacao
Saudi Arabia
Kazakhstan
U.S.
Canada
South Korea
Russia
Japan
Germany
China
Ukraine
U.K.
France
Indonesia
India
1750-2020 CO2 EMISSIONS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Who has polluted the most since the industrial revolution?
The United States tops the list of countries that have emitted the biggest amount of carbon dioxide in total since the industrial revolution. China’s tally of emissions since then only comes to about half that of the United States.
U.S.
China
Russia
Germany
U.K.
Japan
India
France
Canada
Ukraine
Countries emitting small amounts of CO2 and other areas of emissions
2020 CO2 EMISSIONS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Who is currently emitting the most CO2?
Asking for a country’s current emissions per year is a common way of trying to determine who is the biggest emitter. From this angle, China outranks all other countries and the United States slips into second place.
India jumps to 3rd place with 7% percent of global CO2 emissions in 2020.
China
India
U.S.
Iran
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Indonesia
CO2 EMISSIONS PER CAPITA
0 tonnes
250
500
750
1,000
Where are the largest emissions per person?
The list gets shaken up if we ask for a country’s current emissions per person, with Qatar skyrocketing to the top spot.
The United States drops to 13th place and China drifts even further down the list to 41st place.
India, a big polluter in terms of absolute annual emissions, falls to 131st place because of its vast population – many of whom have no access to power at all.
Qatar
New Caledonia
Mongolia
Trinidad and Tobago
Brunei
Kuwait
Bahrain
Curacao
Saudi Arabia
Kazakhstan
U.S.
Canada
South Korea
Russia
Japan
Germany
China
Ukraine
U.K.
France
Indonesia
India
1750-2020 CO2 EMISSIONS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Who has polluted the most since the industrial revolution?
The United States tops the list of countries that have emitted the biggest amount of carbon dioxide in total since the industrial revolution. China’s tally of emissions since then only comes to about half that of the United States.
U.S.
China
Russia
Germany
U.K.
Japan
India
France
Canada
Ukraine
Countries emitting small amounts of CO2 and other areas of emissions
2020 CO2 EMISSIONS
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Who is currently emitting the most CO2?
Asking for a country’s current emissions per year is a common way of trying to determine who is the biggest emitter. From this angle, China outranks all other countries and the United States slips into second place.
India jumps to 3rd place with 7% percent of global CO2 emissions in 2020.
China
India
U.S.
Iran
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Indonesia
CO2 EMISSIONS PER CAPITA
0 tonnes
250
500
750
1,000
Where are the largest emissions per person?
The list gets shaken up if we ask for a country’s current emissions per person, with Qatar skyrocketing to the top spot.
The United States drops to 13th place and China drifts even further down the list to 41st place.
India, a big polluter in terms of absolute annual emissions, falls to 131st place because of its vast population – many of whom have no access to power at all.
Qatar
New Caledonia
Mongolia
Trinidad and Tobago
Brunei
Kuwait
Bahrain
Curacao
Saudi Arabia
Kazakhstan
U.S.
Canada
South Korea
Russia
Japan
Germany
China
Ukraine
U.K.
France
Indonesia
India
It matters which way the question of the biggest emitter is asked because as the effects of climate change become more visible, so too do questions of blame. Meanwhile, the need for tougher climate policies — plus the money needed to cut emissions and adapt to the new climate — becomes more urgent.
Note
Data include territories
Source
Our World in Data
By
Michael Ovaska, Shadia Nasralla, Kate Abnett
Edited by
Jon McClure, Katy Daigle