Each Country's Share of CO2 Emissions

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The world's countries contribute different amounts of heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. The table below shows data compiled by the Energy Information Agency (Department of Energy), which estimates carbon dioxide emissions from all sources of fossil fuel burning and consumption. Here we list the 20 countries with the highest carbon dioxide emissions (data are for 2006). A graph of the top 20 carbon dioxide emitters is also available. Next update will be availabe in August 2009.

	Country	Total Emissions (Million metric tons of CO2)	Per Capita Emissions (Tons/capita)
1.	China	6017.69	4.58
2.	United States	5902.75	19.78
3.	Russia	1704.36	12.00
4.	India	1293.17	1.16
5.	Japan	1246.76	9.78
6.	Germany	857.60	10.40
7.	Canada	614.33	18.81
8.	United Kingdom	585.71	9.66
9.	South Korea	514.53	10.53
10.	Iran	471.48	7.25
11.	Italy	468.19	8.05
12.	South Africa	443.58	10.04
13.	Mexico	435.60	4.05
14.	Saudi Arabia	424.08	15.70
15.	France	417.75	6.60
16.	Australia	417.06	20.58
17.	Brazil	377.24	2.01
18.	Spain	372.61	9.22
19.	Ukraine	328.72	7.05
20.	Poland	303.42	7.87

The picture that emerges from these figures is one where—in general—developed countries and major emerging economy nations lead in total carbon dioxide emissions. Developed nations typically have high carbon dioxide emissions per capita, while some developing countries lead in the growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions. Obviously, these uneven contributions to the climate problem are at the core of the challenges the world community faces in finding effective and equitable solutions.

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