It’s been reported that China has caused more pollution since 2013 than Britain has since the Industrial Revolution first began. Britain has caused 78 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions in the 270-years between 1750 and 2020, while China has caused 80 billion tonnes from 2013 to 2020.
China is responsible for 14 percent of all emissions throughout history, making it the second biggest polluter in the world. The USA is in first place as it is responsible for 25 percent of all emissions in that time.
Top 10 Countries with the Highest CO₂ Emissions in the World (Unit: million tons CO₂) – 2020 EDGAR:(Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research)
- China – 11,680.42
- United States – 4,535.30
- India – 2,411.73
- Russia – 1,674.23
- Japan – 1,061.77
- Iran – 690.24
- Germany – 636.88
- South Korea – 621.47
- Saudi Arabia – 588.81
- Indonesia – 568.27
China has the highest overall level of CO₂ emissions, producing 11.680 gigatons (11.68 billion tons, or 11,680 million tons) of CO₂ emissions in 2020, followed by the United States with 4.535 gigatons and India with 2.412 gigatons. However, it is worth noting that these are also the world’s three most populous countries, so their high rank among emitters of CO₂—which is released predominantly though transportation networks and electricity production—can be credited in no small part to their higher overall populations.
This notion is reinforced when one balances the rankings by dividing total consumption by the country’s population, resulting in a list of the world’s highest CO₂ emitters per capita (per person). This method results in a notably different top ten list:
Top 10 Countries with the Highest CO₂ Emissions Per Capita (Unit: million tons CO₂) – 2020 EDGAR:
- Palau – 55.29
- Qatar – 35.64
- New Caledonia – 25.52
- Trinidad & Tobago – 21.97
- Bahrain – 21.60
- Kuwait – 20.91
- United Arab Emirates – 20.70
- Brunei – 17.95
- Saudi Arabia – 16.96
- Oman – 16.90