Total GHG Emissions: The World Story

In 2024, Climate Watch released a database highlighting the emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) across various sectors of the economy of all world countries (agriculture, construction, energy, etc.) from 1990 to 2020. Based on it, various worldwide trends and patterns can be identified. Studying this dataset becomes significant when continent-wise emissions are visualised and the multiple stories it underscores are telling.

The World: An Overview

The situation of the world in terms of GHG emissions for the past three decades can be understood with these three figures.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Source: Climate Watch

These charts reveal a simple story – North America and Europe have almost more than halved their total GHG emissions while Asia has increased its total emissions significantly. This has to be attributed to both the population growth and growing aspirations of the Asian societies and nations, but also reveals the perils of late industrialisation of the Asian economies. There is also one more derivation and that is the reduction or halt in the growth of GHGs of Africa, South America and Oceania. 

The reason for such a stark difference against the backdrop of a highly widened income inequality between the West and Asia can be the conscious export of polluting industries and working conditions to the East while the service sector becoming the chief driver of Western economies. Additionally, due to the sprouting of climate consciousness and green politics since 1990s in the West and specifically Europe became more pronounced there. In contrast, Asia, led by China and Russia, had undergone massive industrialisation and relied on polluting energy sources, respectively, driving the GHG emissions.

Source: Climate Watch

Now, let us see the rate of increase/decrease of the GHGs for each five years since 1990.

The graph shows a clear trend. Europe has been reducing its carbon emissions at a radical pace than any other continent. North America sees a net decline only after around 2006-07. Since then, it has also been reducing its carbon emissions at a fast pace. South America also reduces its emissions after 2010.

However, Asia has been relatively late in prioritising carbon footprint reduction peeking its GHG emissions in 2005. It has still a long way to go. It can be attributed to the fact that China along with other East Asian countries underwent massive industrialization and manufacturing. So, in a way, these countries produced more GHGs than Europe and North America and in many ways for them. It also shows that the West has virtually almost completely exported its polluting industries to Asia with higher population meaning cheaper labour but also more per capita damage owing to various kinds of environmental degradation. Africa has also been steadily increasing its GHGs but the continent’s overall share in the world’s tally has gone down quite sizeably.

The Hidden Story

While it might seem that Asia has gone relentless in its pursuit of industrial development and is culpable for increasing emissions worldwide. However, one important metric to paint the picture better is per capita emissions and the following chart reveal it in the best way possible:

Source: Climate Watch

This chart succinctly summarises the hidden story of GHG emissions – North America and Europe amount for more per capita emissions than Asia combined. 

While the reduction in per capita GHG emissions (KgCO₂e) for the past 3 decades (1990 to 2020) has been -1.18 and -1.19% on average respectively, Asia’s per capita emissions have increased just by 0.65% on average.

What can be the possible reasons for such a huge gap in the continents’ per capita emissions?

Firstly, the rapid economic growth and industrialization in many Asian countries have resulted in increased energy consumption and higher greenhouse gas emissions. Since the 1990s, the expansion of manufacturing and heavy industries, especially in countries like China and India, has significantly contributed to this rise. Moreover, Asia’s large and growing population has somewhat masked the impact of per capita emissions, with total emissions increasing but relatively modest per capita emissions.

Another factor is Asia’s energy mix, which is heavily dependent on coal and other fossil fuels. Although there have been efforts to integrate renewable energy sources, the pace and scale of this transition may not be sufficient to offset emissions from traditional energy sources. Rapid urbanization in Asia has also led to increased construction activities, transportation needs, and energy consumption, further driving up greenhouse gas emissions.

Technological and efficiency improvements have also influenced these trends. Developed countries have benefited more from technological advancements and energy efficiency measures, leading to reductions in per capita emissions. In contrast, developing countries in Asia might still be in the process of adopting cleaner technologies and more efficient industrial processes. Additionally, the policy and regulatory frameworks in many Asian countries may not be as strong or strictly enforced as in other regions, impacting overall emissions trends.

What about Countries?

Out of 193 countries in the world (except for the Holy See and the State of Palestine), here is their pollution status.

Top Polluter Countries (Rank 1 to 5)	% of World’s Emissions	% of Their Continent’s Emission
China	27.26%	50.00%
United States	11.78%	78.01%
India	6.63%	12.16%
Russia	4.52%	34.57%
Indonesia	2.58%	4.73%

Continents	Total Countries	Bottom 93 Polluters*	Top 100 Polluters**	Top 50 Polluters***	Top 10 Polluters****	Top 5 Polluters*****
Africa	53	29	24	7	0	0
Asia	46	12	34	23	6	3
Europe	42	17	25	11	1	1
North America	22	18	4	3	2	1
Oceania	14	11	3	1	0	0
South America	12	3	9	5	1	0

This data reveals that China is the biggest polluter followed by the United States, India, Russia and Indonesia respectively. However, interestingly, China emits more GHG than the next 4 countries combined. Asia’s GHG emissions are chiefly driven by China, Russia and India. Asia’s significant representation in the higher polluter categories can be attributed to its rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization, leading to increased energy consumption and reliance on fossil fuels. 

North America’s presence among the top polluters is primarily due to the high emissions from the United States and Canada, driven by their industrial activities, high energy consumption per capita, and extensive use of fossil fuels. While Europe does not feature in top polluters, their countries’ per capita emissions are highest in the world highlighting the massive gap between the continent and the world. There is also enormous consumption and ‘luxurious’ energy consumption by the North American and European countries reflected by their per capita consumption.

In contrast, Africa and Oceania have more countries in the bottom 93 polluters, reflecting lower levels of industrialization and energy consumption. 

Conclusion

Since 1990, there has been an increased worry among the Western countries about the growing environmental degradation owing to GHG emissions. While the West has been vigilant in controlling its emissions by regulating polluting industries, population growth, moving to cleaner energy production sources and developing an ‘environmental consciousness’, the East has just begun to catch up to the levels of industrial strength that Europe possesses. Various manufacturing and energy production industries are the backbone of any economy and a great means to elevate people out of poverty. The West today relies heavily on the service section aka ‘knowledge economy’ while there is a mismatch between the industrial sector and the service sector in the East. However, this transition only situates a complete industrial development of the West in the early half of the 20th century. There is a dilemma that afflicts the world and a morally, ethically, and environmentally suitable answer is still unfounded to solve it – Should the developing economies be penalised for initiating their industrialisation later than the developed economies or not? Since the modern definitions of poverty, development and what it means to lead a ‘quality life’ are increasingly becoming problematic, a solution is needed but whatever that solution is must not be at the expense of denying long due development to the developing world, and neither should it be environmentally unsustainable. Any ideology, institution, polity, economy, philosophy or movement that addresses these needs would triumph in the hearts and minds of humans in the 21st century. 

References:

• Climate Watch. 2024. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute
• World Population Review: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/list-of-countries-by-continent
• US Census Bureau World Population Estimate, June 2019