Highest Per Capita CO₂ Emissions

This was originally published on December 1, 2021, on Visual Capitalist.

Developing countries like China, India, and Russia are some of the highest producers of CO₂ worldwide and will be so for a while. But the situation is far from straightforward—and looking at CO₂ emissions per capita can add nuance to the overall story.

Based on data presented by the Aqal Group and the IEA, here we visualize the countries and regions with the highest per capita carbon emissions from around the world.

Let’s dive into the highest per capita carbon emitters and how they are trying to reduce their carbon contributions.

Leaders in Per Capita CO₂ Emissions

Oil-producing countries in the Middle East are the highest emitters of CO₂ on a per capita basis, but developed countries like the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada also have some of the higher rates of per capita emissions.

*Middle East A group includes Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates

Canada and the United States have per capita carbon footprints of 15.2 and 14.4 tonnes per year, respectively. Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand combine for an average per capita footprint of over 13.6 tonnes per year.

It’s worth noting that all of these numbers are more than three times higher than the global average, which in 2019 was 4.4 tonnes per person.

Energy Sources and Per Capita CO₂ Emissions

Since there is a strong relationship between wealth and per capita CO₂ emissions, we’d expect countries with high living standards to have a high carbon footprint.

But the data above shows significant differences in per capita emissions, even between countries with similar living standards. Many countries across Europe, for example, have much lower emissions than the U.S., Canada, or Australia.

Here’s a look at the top 25 countries by standard of living and their share of electricity production from fossil fuels:

Sources: Electricity consumption, Fossil fuel mix

The choice of energy sources plays a key role here. In the UK, Portugal, and France, a much higher share of electricity is produced from nuclear and renewable sources.

For example, only 9.5% of France’s electricity production comes from fossil fuels, compared to other developed countries like the U.S. at 60.1% and Japan at 69.1%.

G20 Countries and Carbon Emissions

This reliance on fossil fuels for energy production extends to the rest of the G20 countries. According to the Climate Transparency Report, CO₂ emissions will rise by 4% across the G20 group this year, dropping 6% in 2020 due to the pandemic.

This rise is mainly due to the increase in coal consumption across these countries. Coal consumption is projected to rise by almost 5% in 2021, with this growth driven by China (accounting for 61% of the growth), the U.S. (18%), and India (17%).

Here’s a look at the current coal power capacity of each G20 country:

Coal use in China has surged, with the country experiencing increased demand for energy as the global economy has recovered. Coal prices are up nearly 200% from a year ago.

Plans to Tackle Emissions

The conclusion of the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow saw several pledges and announcements being made by various countries. Here are some of the highlights:

• The world’s biggest CO₂ emitters, the U.S. and China, pledged to cooperate more over the next decade in areas including methane emissions and the switch to clean energy.
• Leaders from more than 100 countries—with about 85% of the world’s forests—promised to stop deforestation by 2030.
• More than 100 countries agreed upon a scheme to cut 30% of methane emissions by 2030.
• Financial organizations have agreed to back renewable energy and direct finance away from fossil fuel-burning industries.

Many countries have pledged to do their part to tackle climate change. It will be an impressive display of global unity if global CO₂ emissions drop significantly over the next decade.

How Far Are We from Phasing Out Coal?

This was originally published on April 28, 2022, on Elements.

At the COP26 conference last year, 40 nations agreed to phase coal out of their energy mixes.

Despite this, in 2021, coal-fired electricity generation reached all-time highs globally, showing that eliminating coal from the energy mix will not be a simple task.

This infographic shows the aggressive phase-out of coal power that would be required in order to reach net zero goals by 2050, based on an analysis by Ember that uses data provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Low-Cost Comes at a High Environmental Cost

Coal-powered electricity generation rose by 9.0% in 2021 to 10,042 Terawatt-hours (TWh), marking the biggest percentage rise since 1985.

The main reason is cost. Coal is the world’s most affordable energy fuel. Unfortunately, low-cost energy comes at a high cost for the environment, with coal being the largest source of energy-related CO2 emissions.

China has the highest coal consumption, making up 54% of the world’s coal electricity generation. The country’s consumption jumped 12% between 2010 and 2020, despite coal making up a lower percentage of the country’s energy mix in relative terms.

Together, China and India account for 66% of global coal consumption and emit about 35% of the world’s greenhouse gasses (GHG). If you add the United States to the mix, this goes up to 72% of coal consumption and 49% of GHGs.

How Urgent is to Phase Out Coal?

According to the United Nations, emissions from current and planned fossil energy infrastructure are already more than twice the amount that would push the planet over 1.5°C of global heating, a level that scientists say could bring more intense heat, fire, storms, flooding, and drought than the present 1.2°C.

Apart from being the largest source of CO2 emissions, coal combustion is also a major threat to public health because of the fine particulate matter released into the air.

As just one example of this impact, a recent study from Harvard University estimates air pollution from fossil fuel combustion is responsible for 1 in 5 deaths globally.

The Move to Renewables

Coal-powered electricity generation must fall by 13% every year until 2030 to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goals of keeping global heating to only 1.5 degrees.

To reach the mark, countries would need to speed up the shift from their current carbon-intensive pathways to renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

How fast the transition away from coal will be achieved depends on a complicated balance between carbon emissions cuts and maintaining economic growth, the latter of which is still largely dependent on coal power.