Relevant greenhouse gases

The major anthropogenic (human origin) sources of greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N
₂O), methane, three groups of fluorinated gases (sulfur hexafluoride (SF
₆), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs, sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃)).^[15] Though the greenhouse effect is heavily driven by water vapor,^[16] human emissions of water vapor are not a significant contributor to warming.

Although CFCs are greenhouse gases, they are regulated by the Montreal Protocol which was motivated by CFCs' contribution to ozone depletion rather than by their contribution to global warming. Ozone depletion has only a minor role in greenhouse warming, though the two processes are sometimes confused in the media. In 2016, negotiators from over 170 nations meeting at the summit of the United Nations Environment Programme reached a legally binding accord to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.^[17][18][19] The use of CFC-12 (except some essential uses) has been phased out due to its ozone depleting properties.^[20] The phasing-out of less active HCFC-compounds will be completed in 2030.^[21]

Human activities

The industrial era growth in atmospheric CO₂-equivalent gas concentrations since 1750.^[22]

Starting about 1750, industrial activity powered by fossil fuels began to significantly increase the concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Emissions have grown rapidly since about 1950 with ongoing expansions in global population and economic activity following World War II. As of 2021, measured atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide were almost 50% higher than pre-industrial levels.^[22][23]

Natural sources of carbon dioxide are nearly 20 times greater than sources due to human activity,^[24] but over periods longer than a few years natural sources are closely balanced by natural sinks, mainly photosynthesis of carbon compounds by plants and marine plankton. Absorption of terrestrial infrared radiation by longwave absorbing gases makes Earth a less efficient emitter. Therefore, in order for Earth to emit as much energy as is absorbed, global temperatures must increase.^[25]

The main sources of greenhouse gases due to human activity (also called carbon sources) are:

• Burning of fossil fuels and deforestation: Burning fossil fuels is estimated to have emitted 62% of the human-caused greenhouse gases in 2015.^[26] The largest single source is coal-fired power stations, with 20% of greenhouse gases (GHG) as of 2021.^[27]
• Land use change (mainly deforestation in the tropics) accounts for about a quarter of total anthropogenic GHG emissions.^[28]
• Livestock enteric fermentation and manure management,^[29] paddy rice farming, land use and wetland changes, man-made lakes,^[30] pipeline losses, and covered vented landfill emissions leading to higher methane atmospheric concentrations. Many of the newer style fully vented septic systems that enhance and target the fermentation process also are sources of atmospheric methane.
• Use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigeration systems, and use of CFCs and halons in fire suppression systems and manufacturing processes.
• Agricultural soils emit nitrous oxide (N₂O) partly due to application of fertilizers.^[31]
• The largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions is agriculture, closely followed by gas venting and fugitive emissions from the fossil-fuel industry.^[32][33] The largest agricultural methane source is livestock. Cattle (raised for both beef and milk, as well as for inedible outputs like manure and draft power) are the animal species responsible for the most emissions, representing about 65% of the livestock sector's emissions.^[34]

Global estimates

Global greenhouse gas emissions are about 50 Gt per year^[14] and for 2019 have been estimated at 57 Gt CO₂ eq including 5 Gt due to land use change.^[35] In 2019, approximately 34% [20 GtCO₂-eq] of total net anthropogenic GHG emissions came from the energy supply sector, 24% [14 GtCO₂-eq] from industry, 22% [13 GtCO₂-eq]from agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU), 15% [8.7 GtCO₂-eq] from transport and 6% [3.3 GtCO₂-eq] from buildings.^[36]

The current CO₂-equivalent emission rates averaging 6.6 tonnes per person per year,^[6] are well over twice the estimated rate 2.3 tons^[7][8] required to stay within the 2030 Paris Agreement increase of 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) over pre-industrial levels.^[9]

While cities are sometimes considered to be disproportionate contributors to emissions, per-capita emissions tend to be lower for cities than the averages in their countries.^[37]

A 2017 survey of corporations responsible for global emissions found that 100 companies were responsible for 71% of global direct and indirect emissions, and that state-owned companies were responsible for 59% of their emissions.^[38][39]

China is, by a significant margin, Asia's and the world's largest emitter: it emits nearly 10 billion tonnes each year, more than one-quarter of global emissions.^[40] Other countries with fast growing emissions are South Korea, Iran, and Australia (which apart from the oil rich Persian Gulf states, now has the highest per capita emission rate in the world). On the other hand, annual per capita emissions of the EU-15 and the US are gradually decreasing over time.^[41] Emissions in Russia and Ukraine have decreased fastest since 1990 due to economic restructuring in these countries.^[42]

2015 was the first year to see both total global economic growth and a reduction of carbon emissions.^[43]

High income countries compared to low income countries

CO₂ emissions per capita versus GDP per capita (2018): In general, countries with a higher GDP per capita also have higher greenhouse gas emissions per capita.^[44]

Annual per capita emissions in the industrialized countries are typically as much as ten times the average in developing countries.^[10]: 144 Due to China's fast economic development, its annual per capita emissions are quickly approaching the levels of those in the Annex I group of the Kyoto Protocol (i.e., the developed countries excluding the US).^[41]

Africa and South America are both fairly small emitters: accounting for 3-4% of global emissions each. Both have emissions almost equal in size to international aviation and shipping.^[40]

Variables

There are several ways of measuring greenhouse gas emissions. Some variables that have been reported include:^[46]

• Definition of measurement boundaries: Emissions can be attributed geographically, to the area where they were emitted (the territory principle) or by the activity principle to the territory that produced the emissions. These two principles result in different totals when measuring, for example, electricity importation from one country to another, or emissions at an international airport.
• Time horizon of different gases: The contribution of given greenhouse gas is reported as a CO₂ equivalent. The calculation to determine this takes into account how long that gas remains in the atmosphere. This is not always known accurately and calculations must be regularly updated to reflect new information.
• The measurement protocol itself: This may be via direct measurement or estimation. The four main methods are the emission factor-based method, mass balance method, predictive emissions monitoring systems, and continuous emissions monitoring systems. These methods differ in accuracy, cost, and usability. Public information from space-based measurements of carbon dioxide by Climate Trace is expected to reveal individual large plants before the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference.^[47]

These measures are sometimes used by countries to assert various policy/ethical positions on climate change.^[48]: 94The use of different measures leads to a lack of comparability, which is problematic when monitoring progress towards targets. There are arguments for the adoption of a common measurement tool, or at least the development of communication between different tools.^[46]

Reporting

Emissions may be tracked over long time periods, known as historical or cumulative emissions measurements. Cumulative emissions provide some indicators of what is responsible for greenhouse gas atmospheric concentration build-up.^[49]: 199

National accounts balance

The national accounts balance tracks emissions based on the difference between a country's exports and imports. For many richer nations, the balance is negative because more goods are imported than they are exported. This result is mostly due to the fact that it is cheaper to produce goods outside of developed countries, leading developed countries to become increasingly dependent on services and not goods. A positive account balance would mean that more production was occurring within a country, so more operational factories would increase carbon emission levels.^[50]

Emissions may also be measured across shorter time periods. Emissions changes may, for example, be measured against the base year of 1990. 1990 was used in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the base year for emissions, and is also used in the Kyoto Protocol (some gases are also measured from the year 1995).^{[10]: 146, 149} A country's emissions may also be reported as a proportion of global emissions for a particular year.

Another measurement is of per capita emissions. This divides a country's total annual emissions by its mid-year population.^[51]: 370 Per capita emissions may be based on historical or annual emissions.^{[48]: 106–107}

Embedded emissions

One way of attributing greenhouse gas emissions is to measure the embedded emissions (also referred to as "embodied emissions") of goods that are being consumed. Emissions are usually measured according to production, rather than consumption.^[52] For example, in the main international treaty on climate change (the UNFCCC), countries report on emissions produced within their borders, e.g., the emissions produced from burning fossil fuels.^{[53]: 179 [54]: 1} Under a production-based accounting of emissions, embedded emissions on imported goods are attributed to the exporting, rather than the importing, country. Under a consumption-based accounting of emissions, embedded emissions on imported goods are attributed to the importing country, rather than the exporting, country.

A substantial proportion of CO₂ emissions is traded internationally. The net effect of trade was to export emissions from China and other emerging markets to consumers in the US, Japan, and Western Europe.^[54]: 4

Carbon footprint

Emission intensity

Emission intensity is a ratio between greenhouse gas emissions and another metric, e.g., gross domestic product (GDP) or energy use. The terms "carbon intensity" and "emissions intensity" are also sometimes used.^[55] Emission intensities may be calculated using market exchange rates (MER) or purchasing power parity (PPP).^[48]: 96 Calculations based on MER show large differences in intensities between developed and developing countries, whereas calculations based on PPP show smaller differences.

Example tools and websites

Carbon accounting (or greenhouse gas accounting) is a framework of methods to measure and track how much greenhouse gas an organization emits.^[13]

Cumulative and historical emissions

Cumulative and annual CO₂ emissions

Cumulatively, the U.S. has emitted the greatest amount of CO₂, though China's emission trend is now steeper.^[45]

Annually, the U.S. emitted the most CO₂ until early in the 21st century, when China's annual emissions began to dominate.^[45]

Cumulative CO₂ emission by world region

Cumulative per person emissions by world region in 3 time periods

CO₂ emissions by source since 1880

Cumulative anthropogenic (i.e., human-emitted) emissions of CO₂ from fossil fuel use are a major cause of global warming,^[64] and give some indication of which countries have contributed most to human-induced climate change. In particular, CO₂ stays in the atmosphere for at least 150 years and up to 1000 years,^[65] whilst methane disappears within a decade or so,^[66] and nitrous oxides last about 100 years.^[67] The graph gives some indication of which regions have contributed most to human-induced climate change.^{[68][69]: 15} When these numbers are calculated per capita cumulative emissions based on then-current population the situation is shown even more clearly. The ratio in per capita emissions between industrialized countries and developing countries was estimated at more than 10 to 1.

Non-OECD countries accounted for 42% of cumulative energy-related CO₂ emissions between 1890 and 2007.^{[53]: 179–80} Over this time period, the US accounted for 28% of emissions; the EU, 23%; Japan, 4%; other OECD countries 5%; Russia, 11%; China, 9%; India, 3%; and the rest of the world, 18%.^{[53]: 179–80}

Overall, developed countries accounted for 83.8% of industrial CO₂ emissions over this time period, and 67.8% of total CO₂ emissions. Developing countries accounted for industrial CO₂ emissions of 16.2% over this time period, and 32.2% of total CO₂ emissions.

However, what becomes clear when we look at emissions across the world today is that the countries with the highest emissions over history are not always the biggest emitters today. For example, in 2017, the UK accounted for just 1% of global emissions.^[40]

In comparison, humans have emitted more greenhouse gases than the Chicxulub meteorite impact event which caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.^[70]

Transport, together with electricity generation, is the major source of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. Greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector continue to rise, in contrast to power generation and nearly all other sectors. Since 1990, transportation emissions have increased by 30%. The transportation sector accounts for around 70% of these emissions. The majority of these emissions are caused by passenger vehicles and vans. Road travel is the first major source of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, followed by aircraft and maritime.^[71][72] Waterborne transportation is still the least carbon-intensive mode of transportation on average, and it is an essential link in sustainable multimodal freight supply chains.^[73]

Buildings, like industry, are directly responsible for around one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from space heating and hot water consumption. When combined with power consumption within buildings, this figure climbs to more than one-third.^[74][75][76]

Within the EU, the agricultural sector presently accounts for roughly 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions, with methane from livestock accounting for slightly more than half of 10%.^[77]

Estimates of total CO₂ emissions do include biotic carbon emissions, mainly from deforestation.^[48]: 94 Including biotic emissions brings about the same controversy mentioned earlier regarding carbon sinks and land-use change.^{[48]: 93–94} The actual calculation of net emissions is very complex, and is affected by how carbon sinks are allocated between regions and the dynamics of the climate system.

Fossil fuel CO₂ emissions on log (natural and base 10) scales

The graphic shows the logarithm of 1850–2019 fossil fuel CO₂ emissions;^[78] natural log on left, actual value of Gigatons per year on right. Although emissions increased during the 170-year period by about 3% per year overall, intervals of distinctly different growth rates (broken at 1913, 1945, and 1973) can be detected. The regression lines suggest that emissions can rapidly shift from one growth regime to another and then persist for long periods of time. The most recent drop in emissions growth - by almost 3 percentage points - was at about the time of the 1970s energy crisis. Percent changes per year were estimated by piecewise linear regression on the log data and are shown on the plot; the data are from The Integrated Carbon Observation system.^[79]

Changes since a particular base year

The sharp acceleration in CO₂ emissions since 2000 to more than a 3% increase per year (more than 2 ppm per year) from 1.1% per year during the 1990s is attributable to the lapse of formerly declining trends in carbon intensity of both developing and developed nations. China was responsible for most of global growth in emissions during this period. Localised plummeting emissions associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union have been followed by slow emissions growth in this region due to more efficient energy use, made necessary by the increasing proportion of it that is exported.^[80] In comparison, methane has not increased appreciably, and N
₂O by 0.25% y⁻¹.

Using different base years for measuring emissions has an effect on estimates of national contributions to global warming.^{[69]: 17–18 [81]} This can be calculated by dividing a country's highest contribution to global warming starting from a particular base year, by that country's minimum contribution to global warming starting from a particular base year. Choosing between base years of 1750, 1900, 1950, and 1990 has a significant effect for most countries.^{[69]: 17–18} Within the G8 group of countries, it is most significant for the UK, France and Germany. These countries have a long history of CO₂ emissions (see the section on Cumulative and historical emissions).

Data from Global Carbon Project

Map of key fossil fuel projects ("carbon bombs"): proposed or existing fossil fuel extraction projects (a coal mine, oil or gas project) that would result in more than 1 gigaton of CO₂ emissions if its reserves were completely extracted and burnt.^[82]

The Global Carbon Project continuously releases data about CO₂ emissions, budget and concentration.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂)

• Fossil fuel: oil, gas and coal (89%) are the major driver of anthropogenic global warming with annual emissions of 35.6 GtCO₂ in 2019.^[89]: 20
• Cement production (4%) is estimated at 1.42 GtCO₂
• Land-use change (LUC) is the imbalance of deforestation and reforestation. Estimations are very uncertain at 4.5 GtCO₂. Wildfires alone cause annual emissions of about 7 GtCO₂^[90][91]
• Non-energy use of fuels, carbon losses in coke ovens, and flaring in crude oil production.^[89]

Methane (CH₄)

Historical and future temperature projections showing importance of mitigating short-lived climate pollutants like methane

Methane has a high immediate impact with a 5-year global warming potential of up to 100.^[4] Given this, the current 389 Mt of methane emissions^[89]: 6 has about the same short-term global warming effect as CO₂ emissions, with a risk to trigger irreversible changes in climate and ecosystems. For methane, a reduction of about 30% below current emission levels would lead to a stabilization in its atmospheric concentration.

• Fossil fuels (32%), again, account for most of the methane emissions including coal mining (12% of methane total), gas distribution and leakages (11%) as well as gas venting in oil production (9%).^{[89]: 6 [89]: 12}
• Livestock (28%) with cattle (21%) as the dominant source, followed by buffalo (3%), sheep (2%), and goats (1.5%).^{[89]: 6, 23}
• Human waste and wastewater (21%): When biomass waste in landfills and organic substances in domestic and industrial wastewater is decomposed by bacteria in anaerobic conditions, substantial amounts of methane are generated.^[89]: 12
• Rice cultivation (10%) on flooded rice fields is another agricultural source, where anaerobic decomposition of organic material produces methane.^[89]: 12

Nitrous oxide (N
₂O)

N₂O has a high GWP and significant Ozone Depleting Potential. It is estimated that the global warming potential of N₂O over 100 years is 265 times greater than CO₂.^[92] For N₂O, a reduction of more than 50% would be required for a stabilization.

Most emissions (56%) of nitrous oxide comes from agriculture, especially meat production: cattle (droppings on pasture), fertilizers, animal manure.^[89]: 12Further contributions come from combustion of fossil fuels (18%) and biofuels^[93] as well as industrial production of adipic acid and nitric acid.

F-gases

Fluorinated gases include hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃). They are used by switchgear in the power sector, semiconductor manufacture, aluminum production and a largely unknown source of SF₆.^[89]: 38 Continued phase down of manufacture and use of HFCs under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol will help reduce HFC emissions and concurrently improve the energy efficiency of appliances that use HFCs like air conditioners, freezers and other refrigeration devices.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen leakages contribute to indirect global warming.^[94] When hydrogen is oxidized in the atmosphere, the result is an increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases in both the troposphere and the stratosphere.^[95] Hydrogen can leak from hydrogen production facilities as well as any infrastructure in which hydrogen is transported, stored, or consumed.^[96]

Black carbon

Black carbon is formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass. It is not a greenhouse gas but a climate forcing agent. Black carbon can absorb sunlight and reduce albedo when deposited on snow and ice. Indirect heating can be caused by the interaction with clouds.^[97] Black carbon stays in the atmosphere for only several days to weeks.^[98] Emissions may be mitigated by upgrading coke ovens, installing particulate filters on diesel-based engines, reducing routine flaring, and minimizing open burning of biomass.

Electricity generation

Global greenhouse gas emissions by gas

Coal-fired power stations are the single largest emitter, with over 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2018.^[103] Although much less polluting than coal plants, natural gas-fired power plants are also major emitters,^[104] taking electricity generation as a whole over 25% in 2018.^[105] Notably, just 5% of the world's power plants account for almost three-quarters of carbon emissions from electricity generation, based on an inventory of more than 29,000 fossil-fuel power plants across 221 countries.^[106] In the 2022 IPCC report, it is noted that providing modern energy services universally would only increase greenhouse gas emissions by a few percent at most. This slight increase means that the additional energy demand that comes from supporting decent living standards for all would be far lower than current average energy consumption.^[107]

Agriculture, forestry and land use

Agriculture

See also: Methane emissions

This section is an excerpt from Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.[edit]

The amount of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is significant: The agriculture, forestry and land use sector contribute between 13% and 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions.^[108] Agriculture contributes towards climate change through direct greenhouse gas emissions and by the conversion of non-agricultural land such as forests into agricultural land.^[109][110] Emissions of nitrous oxide and methane make up over half of total greenhouse gas emission from agriculture.^[111] Animal husbandry is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.^[112]

The agricultural food system is responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions.^[113][114] In addition to being a significant user of land and consumer of fossil fuel, agriculture contributes directly to greenhouse gas emissions through practices such as rice production and the raising of livestock.^[115] The three main causes of the increase in greenhouse gases observed over the past 250 years have been fossil fuels, land use, and agriculture.^[116] Farm animal digestive systems can be put into two categories: monogastric and ruminant. Ruminant cattle for beef and dairy rank high in greenhouse-gas emissions; monogastric, or pigs and poultry-related foods, are low. The consumption of the monogastric types may yield less emissions. Monogastric animals have a higher feed-conversion efficiency, and also do not produce as much methane.^[113] Furthermore, CO₂ is actually re-emitted into the atmosphere by plant and soil respiration in the later stages of crop growth, causing more greenhouse gas emissions.^[117] The amount of greenhouse gases produced during the manufacture and use of nitrogen fertilizer is estimated as around 5% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The single most important way to cut emissions from it is to use less fertilizers, while increasing the efficiency of their use.^[118]

There are many strategies that can be used to help soften the effects, and the further production of greenhouse gas emissions - this is also referred to as climate-smart agriculture. Some of these strategies include a higher efficiency in livestock farming, which includes management, as well as technology; a more effective process of managing manure; a lower dependence upon fossil-fuels and nonrenewable resources; a variation in the animals' eating and drinking duration, time and location; and a cutback in both the production and consumption of animal-sourced foods.^{[113][119][120][121]} A range of policies may reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture sector for a more sustainable food system.^{[122]: 816–817}

Deforestation

Mean annual carbon loss from tropical deforestation.^[123]

Further information: Deforestation § Atmospheric, and Deforestation and climate change

Deforestation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. A study shows annual carbon emissions (or carbon loss) from tropical deforestation have doubled during the last two decades and continue to increase. (0.97 ±0.16 PgC per year in 2001–2005 to 1.99 ±0.13 PgC per year in 2015–2019)^[124][123]

Land-use change

Main article: Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

Substantial land-use change contributions to emissions have been made by Latin America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Pacific Islands. Area of rectangles shows total emissions for that region.^[125]

Land-use change, e.g., the clearing of forests for agricultural use, can affect the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by altering how much carbon flows out of the atmosphere into carbon sinks.^[126] Accounting for land-use change can be understood as an attempt to measure "net" emissions, i.e., gross emissions from all sources minus the removal of emissions from the atmosphere by carbon sinks.^{[48]: 92–93}

There are substantial uncertainties in the measurement of net carbon emissions.^[127] Additionally, there is controversy over how carbon sinks should be allocated between different regions and over time.^[48]: 93 For instance, concentrating on more recent changes in carbon sinks is likely to favour those regions that have deforested earlier, e.g., Europe.

In 1997, human-caused Indonesian peat fires were estimated to have released between 13% and 40% of the average annual global carbon emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels.^{[128][129][130]}

Transport of people and goods

Aviation and shipping (dashed line) produce a significant proportion of global carbon dioxide emissions

Transportation accounts for 15% of emissions worldwide.^[131] Over a quarter of global transport CO₂ emissions are from road freight,^[132] so many countries are further restricting truck CO₂ emissions to help limit climate change.^[133]

Maritime transport accounts for 3.5% to 4% of all greenhouse gas emissions, primarily carbon dioxide.^[134][135] In 2022, the shipping industry's 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions made it "the sixth largest greenhouse gas emitter worldwide, ranking between Japan and Germany."^{[136][137][138]}

Buildings and construction

In 2018, manufacturing construction materials and maintaining buildings accounted for 39% of carbon dioxide emissions from energy and process-related emissions. Manufacture of glass, cement, and steel accounted for 11% of energy and process-related emissions.^[142] Because building construction is a significant investment, more than two-thirds of buildings in existence will still exist in 2050. Retrofitting existing buildings to become more efficient will be necessary to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement; it will be insufficient to only apply low-emission standards to new construction.^[143] Buildings that produce as much energy as they consume are called zero-energy buildings, while buildings that produce more than they consume are energy-plus. Low-energy buildings are designed to be highly efficient with low total energy consumption and carbon emissions—a popular type is the passive house.^[142]

The construction industry has seen marked advances in building performance and energy efficiency over recent decades.^[144] Green building practices that avoid emissions or capture the carbon already present in the environment, allow for reduced footprint of the construction industry, for example, use of hempcrete, cellulose fiber insulation, and landscaping.^[145]

In 2019, the building sector was responsible for 12 GtCO₂-eq emissions. More than 95% of these emissions were carbon, and the remaining 5% were CH₄, N₂O, and halocarbon.^[146]

The largest contributor to building sector emissions (49% of total) is the production of electricity for use in buildings.^[147]

Of global building sector GHG emissions, 28% are produced during the manufacturing process of building materials such as steel, cement (a key component of concrete),^[148] and glass.^[147] The conventional process inherently related to the production of steel and cement results in large amounts of CO₂ emitted. For example, the production of steel in 2018 was responsible for 7 to 9% of the global CO₂ emissions.^[149]

The remaining 23% of global building sector GHG emissions are produced directly on site during building operations.^[147]

Industrial processes

As of 2020 Secunda CTL is the world's largest single emitter, at 56.5 million tonnes CO₂ a year.^[153]

Various services

By type of energy source

Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of electricity supply technologies, median values calculated by IPCC^[183]

Lifecycle GHG emissions, in g CO₂ eq. per kWh, UNECE 2020^[100]

Generational

Researchers report that, on average, the elderly played "a leading role in driving up greenhouse gas emissions in the past decade and are on the way to becoming the largest contributor" due to factors such as demographic transition, low informed concern about climate change and high expenditures on carbon-intensive products like energy which is used i.a. for heating rooms and private transport.^[186][187] They are less affected by climate change impacts,^[188] but have e.g. the same vote-weights for the available electoral options.

By socio-economic class

This pie chart illustrates both total emissions for each income group, and emissions per person within each income group. For example, the 10% with the highest incomes are responsible for half of carbon emissions, and its members emit an average of more than five times as much per person as members of the lowest half of the income scale.^[189]

Though total CO₂ emissions (size of pie charts) differ substantially among high-emitting regions, the pattern of higher income classes emitting more than lower income classes is consistent across regions.^[190] The world's top 1% of emitters emit over 1000 times more than the bottom 1%.^[190]

Scaling the effect of wealth to the national level: richer (developed) countries emit more CO₂ per person than poorer (developing) countries.^[191] Emissions are roughly proportional to GDP per person, though the rate of increase diminishes with average GDP/pp of about $10,000.

Fueled by the consumptive lifestyle of wealthy people, the wealthiest 5% of the global population has been responsible for 37% of the absolute increase in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. It can be seen that there is a strong relationship between income and per capita carbon dioxide emissions.^[40] Almost half of the increase in absolute global emissions has been caused by the richest 10% of the population.^[192] In the newest report from the IPCC 2022, it states that the lifestyle consumptions of the poor and middle class in emerging economies produce approximately 5–50 times less the amount that the high class in already developed high-income countries.^[193][194] Variations in regional, and national per capita emissions partly reflect different development stages, but they also vary widely at similar income levels. The 10% of households with the highest per capita emissions contribute a disproportionately large share of global household greenhouse gas emissions.^[194]

Studies find that the most affluent citizens of the world are responsible for most environmental impacts, and robust action by them is necessary for prospects of moving towards safer environmental conditions.^[195][196]

According to a 2020 report by Oxfam and the Stockholm Environment Institute,^[197][198] the richest 1% of the global population have caused twice as much carbon emissions as the poorest 50% over the 25 years from 1990 to 2015.^{[199][200][201]} This was, respectively, during that period, 15% of cumulative emissions compared to 7%.^[202] The bottom half of the population is directly responsible for less than 20% of energy footprints and consume less than the top 5% in terms of trade-corrected energy. The largest disproportionality was identified to be in the domain of transport, where e.g. the top 10% consume 56% of vehicle fuel and conduct 70% of vehicle purchases.^[203] However, wealthy individuals are also often shareholders and typically have more influence^[204] and, especially in the case of billionaires, may also direct lobbying efforts, direct financial decisions, and/or control companies.

Lists of countries

The top 40 countries emitting all greenhouse gases, showing both that derived from all sources including land clearance and forestry and also the CO₂ component excluding those sources. Per capita figures are included. "World Resources Institute data".. Indonesia and Brazil show very much higher than on graphs simply showing fossil fuel use.

In 2019, China, the United States, India, the EU27+UK, Russia, and Japan - the world's largest CO₂ emitters - together accounted for 51% of the population, 62.5% of global gross domestic product, 62% of total global fossil fuel consumption and emitted 67% of total global fossil CO₂. Emissions from these five countries and the EU28 show different changes in 2019 compared to 2018: the largest relative increase is found for China (+3.4%), followed by India (+1.6%). On the contrary, the EU27+UK (-3.8%), the United States (-2.6%), Japan (-2.1%) and Russia (-0.8%) reduced their fossil CO₂ emissions.^[220]

2019 Fossil CO₂ emissions by country^[220]

Country	total emissions (Mton)	Share (%)	per capita (ton)	per GDP (ton/k$)
Global Total	38,016.57	100.00	4.93	0.29
China	11,535.20	30.34	8.12	0.51
United States	5,107.26	13.43	15.52	0.25
EU27+UK	3,303.97	8.69	6.47	0.14
India	2,597.36	6.83	1.90	0.28
Russia	1,792.02	4.71	12.45	0.45
Japan	1,153.72	3.03	9.09	0.22
International Shipping	730.26	1.92	-	-
Germany	702.60	1.85	8.52	0.16
Iran	701.99	1.85	8.48	0.68
South Korea	651.87	1.71	12.70	0.30
International Aviation	627.48	1.65	-	-
Indonesia	625.66	1.65	2.32	0.20
Saudi Arabia	614.61	1.62	18.00	0.38
Canada	584.85	1.54	15.69	0.32
South Africa	494.86	1.30	8.52	0.68
Mexico	485.00	1.28	3.67	0.19
Brazil	478.15	1.26	2.25	0.15
Australia	433.38	1.14	17.27	0.34
Turkey	415.78	1.09	5.01	0.18
United Kingdom	364.91	0.96	5.45	0.12
Italy,  San Marino and the Holy See	331.56	0.87	5.60	0.13
Poland	317.65	0.84	8.35	0.25
France and  Monaco	314.74	0.83	4.81	0.10
Vietnam	305.25	0.80	3.13	0.39
Kazakhstan	277.36	0.73	14.92	0.57
Taiwan	276.78	0.73	11.65	0.23
Thailand	275.06	0.72	3.97	0.21
Spain and Andorra	259.31	0.68	5.58	0.13
Egypt	255.37	0.67	2.52	0.22
Malaysia	248.83	0.65	7.67	0.27
Pakistan	223.63	0.59	1.09	0.22
United Arab Emirates	222.61	0.59	22.99	0.34
Argentina	199.41	0.52	4.42	0.20
Iraq	197.61	0.52	4.89	0.46
Ukraine	196.40	0.52	4.48	0.36
Algeria	180.57	0.47	4.23	0.37
Netherlands	156.41	0.41	9.13	0.16
Philippines	150.64	0.40	1.39	0.16
Bangladesh	110.16	0.29	0.66	0.14
Venezuela	110.06	0.29	3.36	0.39
Qatar	106.53	0.28	38.82	0.41
Czechia	105.69	0.28	9.94	0.25
Belgium	104.41	0.27	9.03	0.18
Nigeria	100.22	0.26	0.50	0.10
Kuwait	98.95	0.26	23.29	0.47
Uzbekistan	94.99	0.25	2.90	0.40
Oman	92.78	0.24	18.55	0.67
Turkmenistan	90.52	0.24	15.23	0.98
Chile	89.89	0.24	4.90	0.20
Colombia	86.55	0.23	1.74	0.12
Romania	78.63	0.21	4.04	0.14
Morocco	73.91	0.19	2.02	0.27
Austria	72.36	0.19	8.25	0.14
Serbia and Montenegro	70.69	0.19	7.55	0.44
Israel and  Palestine	68.33	0.18	7.96	0.18
Belarus	66.34	0.17	7.03	0.37
Greece	65.57	0.17	5.89	0.20
Peru	56.29	0.15	1.71	0.13
Singapore	53.37	0.14	9.09	0.10
Hungary	53.18	0.14	5.51	0.17
Libya	52.05	0.14	7.92	0.51
Portugal	48.47	0.13	4.73	0.14
Myanmar	48.31	0.13	0.89	0.17
Norway	47.99	0.13	8.89	0.14
Sweden	44.75	0.12	4.45	0.08
Hong Kong	44.02	0.12	5.88	0.10
Finland	43.41	0.11	7.81	0.16
Bulgaria	43.31	0.11	6.20	0.27
North Korea	42.17	0.11	1.64	0.36
Ecuador	40.70	0.11	2.38	0.21
Switzerland and  Liechtenstein	39.37	0.10	4.57	0.07
New Zealand	38.67	0.10	8.07	0.18
Ireland	36.55	0.10	7.54	0.09
Slovakia	35.99	0.09	6.60	0.20
Azerbaijan	35.98	0.09	3.59	0.25
Mongolia	35.93	0.09	11.35	0.91
Bahrain	35.44	0.09	21.64	0.48
Bosnia and Herzegovina	33.50	0.09	9.57	0.68
Trinidad and Tobago	32.74	0.09	23.81	0.90
Tunisia	32.07	0.08	2.72	0.25
Denmark	31.12	0.08	5.39	0.09
Cuba	31.04	0.08	2.70	0.11
Syria	29.16	0.08	1.58	1.20
Jordan	28.34	0.07	2.81	0.28
Sri Lanka	27.57	0.07	1.31	0.10
Lebanon	27.44	0.07	4.52	0.27
Dominican Republic	27.28	0.07	2.48	0.14
Angola	25.82	0.07	0.81	0.12
Bolivia	24.51	0.06	2.15	0.24
Sudan and  South Sudan	22.57	0.06	0.40	0.13
Guatemala	21.20	0.06	1.21	0.15
Kenya	19.81	0.05	0.38	0.09
Croatia	19.12	0.05	4.62	0.16
Estonia	18.50	0.05	14.19	0.38
Ethiopia	18.25	0.05	0.17	0.07
Ghana	16.84	0.04	0.56	0.10
Cambodia	16.49	0.04	1.00	0.23
New Caledonia	15.66	0.04	55.25	1.67
Slovenia	15.37	0.04	7.38	0.19
Nepal	15.02	0.04	0.50	0.15
Lithuania	13.77	0.04	4.81	0.13
Côte d'Ivoire	13.56	0.04	0.53	0.10
Georgia	13.47	0.04	3.45	0.24
Tanzania	13.34	0.04	0.22	0.09
Kyrgyzstan	11.92	0.03	1.92	0.35
Panama	11.63	0.03	2.75	0.09
Afghanistan	11.00	0.03	0.30	0.13
Yemen	10.89	0.03	0.37	0.17
Zimbabwe	10.86	0.03	0.63	0.26
Honduras	10.36	0.03	1.08	0.19
Cameroon	10.10	0.03	0.40	0.11
Senegal	9.81	0.03	0.59	0.18
Luxembourg	9.74	0.03	16.31	0.14
Mozambique	9.26	0.02	0.29	0.24
Moldova	9.23	0.02	2.29	0.27
Costa Rica	8.98	0.02	1.80	0.09
North Macedonia	8.92	0.02	4.28	0.26
Tajikistan	8.92	0.02	0.96	0.28
Paraguay	8.47	0.02	1.21	0.09
Latvia	8.38	0.02	4.38	0.14
Benin	8.15	0.02	0.69	0.21
Mauritania	7.66	0.02	1.64	0.33
Zambia	7.50	0.02	0.41	0.12
Jamaica	7.44	0.02	2.56	0.26
Cyprus	7.41	0.02	6.19	0.21
El Salvador	7.15	0.02	1.11	0.13
Botswana	7.04	0.02	2.96	0.17
Brunei	7.02	0.02	15.98	0.26
Laos	6.78	0.02	0.96	0.12
Uruguay	6.56	0.02	1.89	0.09
Armenia	5.92	0.02	2.02	0.15
Curaçao	5.91	0.02	36.38	1.51
Nicaragua	5.86	0.02	0.92	0.17
Congo	5.80	0.02	1.05	0.33
Albania	5.66	0.01	1.93	0.14
Uganda	5.34	0.01	0.12	0.06
Namibia	4.40	0.01	1.67	0.18
Mauritius	4.33	0.01	3.41	0.15
Madagascar	4.20	0.01	0.16	0.09
Papua New Guinea	4.07	0.01	0.47	0.11
Iceland	3.93	0.01	11.53	0.19
Puerto Rico	3.91	0.01	1.07	0.04
Barbados	3.83	0.01	13.34	0.85
Burkina Faso	3.64	0.01	0.18	0.08
Haiti	3.58	0.01	0.32	0.18
Gabon	3.48	0.01	1.65	0.11
Equatorial Guinea	3.47	0.01	2.55	0.14
Réunion	3.02	0.01	3.40	-
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2.98	0.01	0.03	0.03
Guinea	2.92	0.01	0.22	0.09
Togo	2.85	0.01	0.35	0.22
Bahamas	2.45	0.01	6.08	0.18
Niger	2.36	0.01	0.10	0.08
Bhutan	2.12	0.01	2.57	0.24
Suriname	2.06	0.01	3.59	0.22
Martinique	1.95	0.01	5.07	-
Guadeloupe	1.87	0.00	4.17	-
Malawi	1.62	0.00	0.08	0.08
Guyana	1.52	0.00	1.94	0.20
Sierra Leone	1.40	0.00	0.18	0.10
Fiji	1.36	0.00	1.48	0.11
Palau	1.33	0.00	59.88	4.09
Macao	1.27	0.00	1.98	0.02
Liberia	1.21	0.00	0.24	0.17
Rwanda	1.15	0.00	0.09	0.04
Eswatini	1.14	0.00	0.81	0.11
Djibouti	1.05	0.00	1.06	0.20
Seychelles	1.05	0.00	10.98	0.37
Malta	1.04	0.00	2.41	0.05
Mali	1.03	0.00	0.05	0.02
Cabo Verde	1.02	0.00	1.83	0.26
Somalia	0.97	0.00	0.06	0.57
Maldives	0.91	0.00	2.02	0.09
Chad	0.89	0.00	0.06	0.04
Aruba	0.78	0.00	7.39	0.19
Eritrea	0.75	0.00	0.14	0.08
Lesotho	0.75	0.00	0.33	0.13
Gibraltar	0.69	0.00	19.88	0.45
French Guiana	0.61	0.00	2.06	-
French Polynesia	0.60	0.00	2.08	0.10
The Gambia	0.59	0.00	0.27	0.11
Greenland	0.54	0.00	9.47	0.19
Antigua and Barbuda	0.51	0.00	4.90	0.24
Central African Republic	0.49	0.00	0.10	0.11
Guinea-Bissau	0.44	0.00	0.22	0.11
Cayman Islands	0.40	0.00	6.38	0.09
Timor-Leste	0.38	0.00	0.28	0.10
Belize	0.37	0.00	0.95	0.14
Bermuda	0.35	0.00	5.75	0.14
Burundi	0.34	0.00	0.03	0.04
Saint Lucia	0.30	0.00	1.65	0.11
Western Sahara	0.30	0.00	0.51	-
Grenada	0.23	0.00	2.10	0.12
Comoros	0.21	0.00	0.25	0.08
Saint Kitts and Nevis	0.19	0.00	3.44	0.14
São Tomé and Príncipe	0.16	0.00	0.75	0.19
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0.15	0.00	1.32	0.11
Samoa	0.14	0.00	0.70	0.11
Solomon Islands	0.14	0.00	0.22	0.09
Tonga	0.13	0.00	1.16	0.20
Turks and Caicos Islands	0.13	0.00	3.70	0.13
British Virgin Islands	0.12	0.00	3.77	0.17
Dominica	0.10	0.00	1.38	0.12
Vanuatu	0.09	0.00	0.30	0.09
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	0.06	0.00	9.72	-
Cook Islands	0.04	0.00	2.51	-
Falkland Islands	0.03	0.00	10.87	-
Kiribati	0.03	0.00	0.28	0.13
Anguilla	0.02	0.00	1.54	0.12
Saint Helena,  Ascension and  Tristan da Cunha	0.02	0.00	3.87	-
Faroe Islands	0.00	0.00	0.04	0.00

United States

Though the U.S.'s per capita and per GDP emissions have declined significantly, the raw numerical decline in emissions is much less substantial.^[221]

United Arab Emirates

The UAE was to host the COP28 from 30 November 2023 till 12 December 2023. But, the Emirates faced extensive criticism over its human rights and for appointing the head of an oil company (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), Sultan Al Jaber, as the President-Designate of COP28.^[233] Human rights groups condemned Al Jaber's appointment, saying he was incompatible with the role because ADNOC planned to expand its fossil fuel production, causing higher damage to the climate.^[234] Meanwhile, the UAE failed to submit its methane emission to the United Nations for almost a decade. Countries are required to submit their methane emission to the UN every two years since 2014. The powerful greenhouse gas, methane accounts for a quarter of global heating. The major source of methane is the leaks from fossil fuel exploitation. Al Jaber's ADNOC also established a target for methane leak, which was much higher than it had already reached. In October 2022, ADNOC announced to decrease the methane emissions from oil and gas by 2025. In 2021, International Energy Agency reported ADNOC's methane emission was 38,000 tonnes, which was 3% of the Emirates’ overall methane emissions. In 2019 research, the UAE's methane leaks were at 3.3%.^[235]

China

This section is an excerpt from Greenhouse gas emissions by China.[edit]

China has the most total annual emissions (area of rectangle) of any nation, and has higher than average per capita emissions.^[236]

Cumulatively over time, emissions from China have caused more economic damage globally than any other nation except the U.S.^[237]

China's greenhouse gas emissions are the largest of any country in the world both in production and consumption terms, and stem mainly from coal burning, including coal-fired power stations, coal mining,^[238] and blast furnaces producing iron and steel.^[239] When measuring production-based emissions, China emitted over 14 gigatonnes (Gt) CO_2eq of greenhouse gases in 2019,^[240] 27% of the world total.^[241][242] When measuring in consumption-based terms, which adds emissions associated with imported goods and extracts those associated with exported goods, China accounts for 13 gigatonnes (Gt) or 25% of global emissions.^[243]

India

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

In 2020, carbon dioxide emissions fell by 6.4% or 2.3 billion tonnes globally.^[250] In April 2020, NO_x emissions fell by up to 30%.^[251] In China, lockdowns and other measures resulted in a 26% decrease in coal consumption, and a 50% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions.^[252] Greenhouse gas emissions rebounded later in the pandemic as many countries began lifting restrictions, with the direct impact of pandemic policies having a negligible long-term impact on climate change.^[250][253]