In this time of shifting political landscapes and ongoing international negotiations, many are quick to blame one country or another for an outsize ro

Who’s to blame for climate change? It’s surprisingly complicated.

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2024-11-23 17:00:09

In this time of shifting political landscapes and ongoing international negotiations, many are quick to blame one country or another for an outsize role in causing climate change.

But assigning responsibility is complicated. These three visualizations help explain why and provide some perspective about the world’s biggest polluters.

Greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil fuels and industry reached 37.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2024, according to projections from the Global Carbon Budget, an annual emissions report released last week. That’s a 0.8% increase over last year.

Breaking things down by country, China is far and away the single biggest polluter today, a distinction it has held since 2006. The country currently emits roughly twice as much greenhouse gas as any other nation. The power sector is its single greatest source of emissions as the grid is heavily dependent on coal, the most polluting fossil fuel.

The US is the world’s second-biggest polluter, followed by India. Combined emissions from the 27 nations that make up the European Union are next, followed by Russia and Japan.

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