Who’s to blame for climate change? It’s surprisingly complicated.
Even then, though, there’s another factor to consider: population. Dividing a country’s total emissions by its population reveals how the average individual in each nation is contributing to climate change today.
Countries with smaller populations and economies that are heavily reliant on oil and gas tend to top this list, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
Among the larger nations, Australia has the highest per capita emissions from fossil fuels, with the US and Canada close behind. Meanwhile, other countries that have high total emissions are farther down the list when normalized by population: China’s per capita emissions are just over half that of the US, while India’s is a small fraction.
Understanding the complicated picture of global emissions is crucial, especially during ongoing negotiations (including the current meeting at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan) over how to help developing nations pay for efforts to combat climate change.
Looking at current emissions, one might expect the biggest emitter, China, to contribute more than any other country to climate finance. But considering historical contributions, per capita emissions, and details about national economies, other nations like the US, UK, and members of the EU emerge as those experts tend to say should feature prominently in the talks.
What is clear is that when it comes to the emissions blame game, it’s more complicated than just pointing at today’s biggest polluters. Ultimately, addressing climate change will require everyone to get on board—we all share an atmosphere, and we’re all going to continue feeling the effects of a changing climate.
Notes on data methodology:
- Emissions data is from the Global Carbon Project, which estimates carbon emissions based on energy use. Territorial emissions take into account energy and some industry, but don’t include land use emissions.
- Data from the European Union is the sum of its current 27 member states. The bloc is represented together because the EU generally negotiates together on the international stage.
- Historical emissions for some countries are disaggregated from former borders, including the former USSR and Yugoslavia.
- The per capita emissions map uses official World Bank boundaries, with the exception of Taiwan, which has separate emissions data in the Global Carbon Project.
- Western Sahara’s energy data are reported by Morocco, so its emissions are included in that total. Per capita emissions for Morocco are also used for Western Sahara on the map.
- More detailed information about the Global Carbon Project methods (including the particulars on how territorial emissions are broken down) is available here.
