Fossil fuel combustion produces greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2). A “greenhouse effect” is caused by a gas called a greenhouse gas, which absorbs and then emits heat radiation.
Excessive CO2 emissions from fossil fuel usage disturb the Earth’s carbon cycle and contribute to global warming, although carbon dioxide is essential for life on Earth.
Floods, severe storms, sea-level rise, and disrupted water systems are only some of the consequences of climate change and global warming. The amount of CO2 emitted by a nation affects pollution levels.
There has been a significant rise in worldwide CO2 emissions between 2010 and 2019, rising from 33.1 gigatons of CO2 to 38 gigatons by 2019.
Unfortunately, the world’s CO2 emissions are rising, and the countries that produce the most emissions are not doing nearly enough to decrease them.
A person’s carbon footprint may be reduced in numerous ways. For example, some people are cutting down on red meat consumption; others are using public transit or walking, yet others are utilizing reused containers or bottles instead of purchasing individual packaging.
Developed nations, on the whole, emit more CO2 than developing countries do. Since 2005, energy usage in the United States has risen, most likely owing to increased heating and cooling needs and a decrease in oil costs, which has led to an increase in travel.
After almost a decade of declining energy use, this rise is a welcome sight. Denmark, Luxembourg, & Switzerland are among the most environmentally friendly developed nations, having implemented green efforts to lower their carbon footprint and enhance environmental health overall.
Also See: Cleanest Countries in the World 2022
It is up to the industrialized nations like China and the United States to reduce CO2 emissions worldwide.
The United States, with 5.243 gigatons of CO2 emissions in 2019, came in second behind China’s 11.535 gigatons in 2019. Countries’ CO2 emissions for 2019 and their percentage of global CO2 emissions are shown below.
Country | CO2 Total Emissions (Mton) | % World Total | 2022 Population |
---|---|---|---|
China | 11535.2000 | 30.3400 | 1448471.4000 |
United States | 5107.2600 | 13.4300 | 334805.2690 |
India | 2597.3600 | 6.8300 | 1406631.7760 |
Russia | 1792.0200 | 4.7100 | 145805.9470 |
Japan | 1153.7200 | 3.0300 | 125584.8380 |
Germany | 702.6000 | 1.8500 | 83883.5960 |
Iran | 701.9900 | 1.8500 | 86022.8370 |
South Korea | 651.8700 | 1.7100 | 51329.8990 |
Indonesia | 625.6600 | 1.6500 | 279134.5050 |
Saudi Arabia | 614.6100 | 1.6200 | 35844.9090 |
Canada | 584.8500 | 1.5400 | 38388.4190 |
South Africa | 494.8600 | 1.3000 | 60756.1350 |
Mexico | 485 | 1.2600 | 131562.7720 |
Brazil | 478.1500 | 1.2600 | 215353.5930 |
Australia | 433.3800 | 1.1400 | 26068.7920 |
Turkey | 415.7800 | 1.0900 | 85561.9760 |
United Kingdom | 364.9100 | 0.9600 | 68497.9070 |
Italy | 331.5600 | 0.8700 | 60262.7700 |
Poland | 317.6500 | 0.8400 | 37739.7850 |
France | 314.7400 | 0.8300 | 65584.5180 |
Vietnam | 305.2500 | 0.8000 | 98953.5410 |
Kazakhstan | 277.3600 | 0.7300 | 19205.0430 |
Taiwan | 276.7800 | 0.7300 | 23888.5950 |
Thailand | 275.0600 | 0.7200 | 70078.2030 |
Spain | 259.3100 | 0.6800 | 46719.1420 |
Egypt | 255.3700 | 0.6700 | 106156.6920 |
Malaysia | 248.8300 | 0.6500 | 33181.0720 |
Pakistan | 223.6300 | 0.5900 | 229488.9940 |
United Arab Emirates | 222.6100 | 0.5900 | 10081.7850 |
Argentina | 199.4100 | 0.5200 | 46010.2340 |
Iraq | 197.6100 | 197.6100 | 42164.9650 |
Ukraine | 196.4000 | 0.5200 | 43192.1220 |
Algeria | 180.5700 | 0.4700 | 45350.1480 |
Netherlands | 156.4100 | 0.4100 | 17211.4470 |
Philippines | 150.6400 | 0.4000 | 112508.9940 |
Bangladesh | 110.1600 | 0.2900 | 167885.6890 |
Venezuela | 110.0600 | 0.2900 | 29266.9910 |
Qatar | 106.5300 | 0.2800 | 2979.9150 |
Czech Republic | 105.6900 | 0.2800 | 10736.7840 |
Belgium | 104.4100 | 0.2700 | 11668.2780 |
Nigeria | 100.2200 | 0.2600 | 216746.9340 |
Kuwait | 98.9500 | 0.2600 | 4380.3260 |
Uzbekistan | 94.9900 | 0.2500 | 34382.0840 |
Oman | 92.7800 | 0.2400 | 5323.9930 |
Turkmenistan | 90.5200 | 0.2400 | 6201.9430 |
Chile | 89.8900 | 0.2400 | 19250.1950 |
Colombia | 86.5500 | 0.2300 | 51512.7620 |
Romania | 78.6300 | 0.2100 | 19031.3350 |
Morocco | 73.9100 | 0.1900 | 37772.7560 |
Austria | 72.3600 | 0.1900 | 9066.7100 |
Serbia | 70.6900 | 0.1900 | 8653.0160 |
Israel | 68.3300 | 0.1800 | 8922.8920 |
Belarus | 66.3400 | 0.1700 | 9432.8000 |
Greece | 65.5700 | 0.1700 | 10316.6370 |
Peru | 56.2900 | 0.1500 | 33684.2080 |
Singapore | 53.3700 | 0.1400 | 5943.5460 |
Hungary | 53.1800 | 0.1400 | 9606.2590 |
Libya | 52.0500 | 0.1400 | 7040.7450 |
Portugal | 48.4700 | 0.1300 | 10140.5700 |
Myanmar | 48.3100 | 0.1300 | 55227.1430 |
Norway | 47.9900 | 0.1300 | 5511.3700 |
Sweden | 44.7500 | 0.1200 | 10218.9710 |
Hong Kong | 44.0200 | 0.1200 | 7604.2990 |
Finland | 43.4100 | 0.1100 | 5554.9600 |
Bulgaria | 43.3100 | 0.1100 | 6844.5970 |
North Korea | 42.1700 | 0.1100 | 25990.6790 |
Ecuador | 40.7000 | 0.1100 | 18113.3610 |
Switzerland | 39.3700 | 0.1000 | 8773.6370 |
New Zealand | 38.6700 | 0.1000 | 4898.2030 |
Ireland | 36.5500 | 0.1000 | 5020.1990 |
Slovakia | 35.9900 | 0.0900 | 5460.1930 |
Azerbaijan | 35.9800 | 0.0900 | 10300.2050 |
Mongolia | 35.9300 | 0.0900 | 3378.0780 |
Bahrain | 35.4400 | 0.0900 | 1783.9830 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 33.5000 | 0.0900 | 3249.3170 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 32.7400 | 0.0900 | 1406.5850 |
Tunisia | 32.0700 | 0.0800 | 12046.6560 |
Denmark | 31.1200 | 0.0800 | 5834.9500 |
Cuba | 31.0400 | 0.0800 | 11305.6520 |
Syria | 29.1600 | 0.0800 | 19364.8090 |
Jordan | 28.3400 | 0.0700 | 10300.8690 |
Sri Lanka | 27.5700 | 0.0700 | 21575.8420 |
Lebanon | 27.4400 | 0.0700 | 6684.8490 |
Dominican Republic | 27.2800 | 0.0700 | 11056.3700 |
Angola | 25.8200 | 0.0700 | 35027.3430 |
Bolivia | 24.5100 | 0.0600 | 11992.6560 |
South Sudan | 22.5700 | 0.0600 | 11618.5110 |
Sudan | 22.5700 | 0.0600 | 45992.0200 |
Guatemala | 21.2000 | 0.0600 | 18584.0390 |
Kenya | 19.8100 | 0.0500 | 56215.2210 |
Croatia | 19.1200 | 0.0500 | 4059.2860 |
Estonia | 18.5000 | 0.0500 | 1321.9100 |
Ethiopia | 18.2500 | 0.0500 | 120812.6980 |
Ghana | 16.8400 | 0.0400 | 32395.4500 |
Cambodia | 16.4900 | 0.0400 | 17168.6390 |
New Caledonia | 15.6600 | 0.0400 | 290.9150 |
Slovenia | 15.3700 | 0.0400 | 2078.0340 |
Nepal | 15.0200 | 0.0400 | 30225.5820 |
Lithuania | 13.7700 | 0.0400 | 2661.7080 |
Ivory Coast | 13.5600 | 0.0400 | 27742.2980 |
Georgia | 13.4700 | 0.0400 | 3968.7380 |
Tanzania | 13.3400 | 0.0400 | 63298.5500 |
Kyrgyzstan | 11.9200 | 0.0300 | 6728.2710 |
Panama | 11.6300 | 0.0300 | 4446.9640 |
Afghanistan | 11 | 0.0300 | 40754.3880 |
Yemen | 10.8900 | 0.0300 | 31154.8670 |
Zimbabwe | 10.8600 | 0.0300 | 15331.4280 |
Honduras | 10.3600 | 0.0300 | 10221.2470 |
Cameroon | 10.1000 | 0.0300 | 27911.5480 |
Senegal | 9.8100 | 0.0300 | 17653.6710 |
Luxembourg | 9.7400 | 0.0300 | 642.3710 |
Mozambique | 9.2600 | 0.0200 | 33089.4610 |
Moldova | 9.2300 | 0.0200 | 4013.1710 |
Costa Rica | 8.9800 | 0.0200 | 5182.3540 |
North Macedonia | 8.9200 | 0.0200 | 2081.3040 |
Tajikistan | 8.9200 | 0.0200 | 9957.4640 |
Paraguay | 8.4700 | 0.0200 | 7305.8430 |
Latvia | 8.3800 | 0.0200 | 1848.8370 |
Benin | 8.1500 | 0.0200 | 12784.7260 |
Mauritania | 7.6600 | 0.0200 | 4901.9810 |
Zambia | 7.5000 | 0.0200 | 19470.2340 |
Jamaica | 7.4400 | 0.0200 | 2985.0940 |
Cyprus | 7.4100 | 0.0200 | 1223.3870 |
El Salvador | 7.1500 | 0.0200 | 6550.3890 |
Botswana | 7.0400 | 0.0200 | 2441.1620 |
Brunei | 7.0200 | 0.0200 | 445.4310 |
Laos | 6.7800 | 0.0200 | 7481.0230 |
Uruguay | 6.5600 | 0.0200 | 3496.0160 |
Armenia | 5.9200 | 0.0200 | 2971.9660 |
Curacao | 5.9100 | 0.0200 | 165.5290 |
Nicaragua | 5.8600 | 0.0200 | 6779.1000 |
Republic of the Congo | 5.8000 | 0.0200 | 5797.8050 |
Albania | 5.6600 | 0.0100 | 2866.3740 |
Uganda | 5.3400 | 0.0100 | 48432.8630 |
Namibia | 4.4000 | 0.0100 | 2633.8740 |
Mauritius | 4.3300 | 0.0100 | 1274.7270 |
Madagascar | 4.2000 | 0.0100 | 29178.0770 |
Papua New Guinea | 4.0700 | 0.0100 | 9292.1690 |
Iceland | 3.9300 | 0.0100 | 345.3930 |
Puerto Rico | 3.9100 | 0.0100 | 2829.8120 |
Barbados | 3.8300 | 0.0100 | 288.0230 |
Burkina Faso | 3.6400 | 0.0100 | 22102.8380 |
Haiti | 3.5800 | 0.0100 | 11680.2830 |
Gabon | 3.4800 | 0.0100 | 2331.5330 |
Equatorial Guinea | 3.4700 | 0.0100 | 1496.6620 |
DR Congo | 2.9800 | 0.0100 | 95240.7920 |
Guinea | 2.9200 | 0.0100 | 13865.6910 |
Togo | 2.8500 | 0.0100 | 8680.8370 |
Bahamas | 2.4500 | 0.0100 | 400.5160 |
Niger | 2.3600 | 0.0100 | 26083.6600 |
Bhutan | 2.1200 | 0.0100 | 787.9410 |
Suriname | 2.0600 | 0.0100 | 596.8310 |
Martinique | 1.9500 | 0.0100 | 374.0870 |
Guadeloupe | 1.8700 | 0 | 399.7940 |
Malawi | 1.6200 | 0 | 20180.8390 |
Guyana | 1.5200 | 0 | 794.0450 |
Sierra Leone | 1.4000 | 0 | 8306.4360 |
Fiji | 1.3600 | 0 | 909.4660 |
Palau | 1.3300 | 0 | 18.2330 |
Liberia | 1.2100 | 0 | 5305.1170 |
Rwanda | 1.1500 | 0 | 13600.4640 |
Eswatini | 1.1400 | 0 | 1184.8170 |
Seychelles | 1.0500 | 0 | 99.4260 |
Djibouti | 1.0500 | 0 | 1016.0970 |
Malta | 1.0400 | 0 | 444.0330 |
Mali | 1.0300 | 0 | 21473.7640 |
Somalia | 0.9700 | 0 | 16841.7950 |
Maldives | 0.9100 | 0 | 540.9850 |
Chad | 0.8900 | 0 | 17413.5800 |
Aruba | 0.7800 | 0 | 107.6090 |
Lesotho | 0.7500 | 0 | 2175.6990 |
Eritrea | 0.7500 | 0 | 3662.2440 |
French Guiana | 0.6100 | 0 | 314.1690 |
French Polynesia | 0.6000 | 0 | 284.1640 |
Gambia | 0.5900 | 0 | 2558.4820 |
Greenland | 0.5400 | 0 | 56.9730 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 0.5100 | 0 | 99.5090 |
Central African Republic | 0.4900 | 0 | 5016.6780 |
Guinea-Bissau | 0.4400 | 0 | 2063.3670 |
Cayman Islands | 0.4000 | 0 | 67.2770 |
Timor-Leste | 0.3800 | 0 | 1369.4290 |
Belize | 0.3700 | 0 | 412.1900 |
Bermuda | 0.3500 | 0 | 61.9390 |
Burundi | 0.3400 | 0 | 12624.8400 |
Saint Lucia | 0.3000 | 0 | 185.1130 |
Grenada | 0.2300 | 0 | 113.4750 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 0.1900 | 0 | 53.8710 |
Sao Tome and Principe | 0.1600 | 0 | 227.6790 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0.1500 | 0 | 111.5510 |
Samoa | 0.1400 | 0 | 202.2390 |
Solomon Islands | 0.1400 | 0 | 721.1590 |
Tonga | 0.1300 | 0 | 107.7490 |
Vanuatu | 0.0900 | 0 | 321.8320 |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 0.0600 | 0 | 5.7590 |
Cook Islands | 0.0400 | 0 | 17.5710 |
Falkland Islands | 0.0300 | 0 | 3.5390 |
Anguilla | 0.0200 | 0 | 15.2300 |