10 countries that produce most CO2 emissions

China emitted 10.175billion metric tons in 2019, accounting for 28 percent of the global emissions. Fossil fuels, primarily burning coal, is the biggest source of CO2 emissions in the country, as around 58 percent of the country’s energy comes from coal. China, however, is working towards peaking emissions by 2030 and an ambitious target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. The country is looking to reduce its dependence on coal and move to renewable energy sources such as hydropower, wind and solar, apart from nuclear power. Currently, China is the world’s third biggest nuclear power producer by capacity – it has 49 reactors in operation.
Image credit: (Photo by Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The country, which emitted approximately 5.285 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2019, became a climate pariah under Donald Trump when it withdrew from the 2015 Paris Agreement. The nation’s biggest source of emissions has been transportation, accounting for 28.2 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018. The pandemic saw emissions plunging by more than 10 percent last year, the lowest in atleast 3 decades, with stay-at-home orders and restricted mobility. The sector saw a 14.7 percent decline in 2020, with restricted mobility and flights getting cancelled. However, this does not take into account the widespread fires last year that could offset the drop. Power generation from renewable sources has increased, with the country producing around as much energy from renewable energy as it does form coal.

Image credit: According to the The National Climate Assessment draws on input from 13 federal agencies, climate change will slice hundreds of billions of dollars out of the US economy. By the end of the century, climate change could cost the United States $500 billion per year.(Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images)

The third largest CO2 emitter in the world, India produced around 2.61 billion metric tons of CO2 in 2019. Its per capita emissions, however, are much lower and the country is ranked 140th in the world. Coal is among the biggest sources of CO2 emissions in the country. With increased urbanisation, coal is being increasingly used to meet the skyrocketing demand for power. The lockdown placed a temporary hold on CO2 emissions, with India witnessing a reduction of nearly 200 million tonnes, an 8.0 per cent reduction from 2019. India has pledged to generate 40 per cent of power from renewable sources by 2030. The Government has set a target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022. The Government has also unveiled an ambitious plan of ensuring 30 per cent of all cars and two-wheelers sold by 2023, are electronic.

Image credit: Bonfires are a contributor to increasing carbon dioxide CO2 emissions in india. (Photo by Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The Russian Federation emitted 1.5 billion metric tonnes in 2019, making it the fourth largest contributor of CO2 in the world. Russia ratified the Paris Agreement in 2019. As per its draft long-term climate strategy, Russia has pledged to cut emissions by one-third from 1990 levels, by 2030. Russia aims to achieve this through measures such as introduction of a carbon price, development of renewable and nuclear energy, less clearing of forests. However, experts say that the plan is not ambitious enough, and would mean that it would take till the end of the century for the country to become carbon neutral.

Image credit: KRASNOYARSK, RUSSIA - JANUARY 26, 2021: A view of the corner of Karla Marksa and Robespyera Streets in the city of Krasnoyarsk. The regime of unfavorable meteorological conditions is declared in the city for the third time since the beginning of 2021. Andrei Samsonov/TASS (Photo by Andrei Samsonov\TASS via Getty Images)

One of the most developed economies in the world, Japan emitted 1.2 billion metric tonnes of CO2 in 2019. The country is heavily reliant on coal and is among the few countries in the G20 to continue developing new coal plants. While reliance on coal had reduced with Japan working towards using nuclear energy to provide more than half of its electricity by around 2040, the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and the subsequent shutdown of the country’s reactors, has put a break on this.

Japan, along with South Korea is also going ahead with a controversial coal plant in Vietnam. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged to make his country carbon neutral by 2050.

Image credit: Participants in the Fridays For Future movement protest during a nationwide climate change action day on September 20, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Alessandro Di Ciommo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Though the sixth largest emitter of CO2 (805 million metric tonnes as of 2019), Germany has seen a decrease of 35.7 per cent compared to 1990 levels, as per the Federal Environment Agency (FEA). Emissions have fallen by 6.3 percent year on year. This drop has mainly been due to reduction in coal and lignite use and increased power production from renewables and natural gas. In 2020, German lawmakers finalised the country’s phase-out of coal by putting into motion plans to shut down the last coal-fired power plant by 2038. If things go as planned, Germany would be the first industrialised country to leave behind coal and nuclear energy. Experts, however, say that the deadline of 2038 is too far and a more reasonable deadline would have been 2030.

Image credit: The Boxberg power plant in Torga, Germany is going to be powered off in 2038 as part of the german coal phase-out. (Photo by Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images)

Iran: Iran has seen CO2 emissions growing substantially between 1970 and 2019, from 79.5 million metric tonnes to the current level of 702 million metric tonnes. Iran is a petrol-rich country with huge resources of oil and gas, along with renewable energy potential in the form of solar and wind potential. However, US-imposed sanctions on Iran have slowed its transition to cleaner and greener renewable energy sources. While Iran has signed the Paris Agreement, it has not yet ratified it – a step which is needed to make the signing binding. In 2015, Iran pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 4 per cent by 2030 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which it ratified in 1996.

Image credit: Flares of Iranian oil refinery and natural gas company smoking in the air, Persian Gulf, Iran

The Asian country emitted 651.9 million metric tonnes of CO2 in 2019, growing at a rate of 5.05 percent annually between 1970 and 2019, from 62.8 million metric tonnes in 1970. Because of a lack of natural resources, South Korea relies on imports to meets its fossil fuel consultation requirements. The country is working towards reducing emissions, with a focus on investing in more environmentally friendly energy and transport. The country plans to cut railway emissions by replacing diesel trains with a new bullet train by 2029. In July 2020, South Korean President, Moon Jai-in launched the Green New Deal, which, among other aspects calls for expansion of solar panels and wind turbines to 42.7 gigawatts in 2025. South Korea also aims to go carbon neutral by 2050 and remodel buildings, recycle, create urban forests, and create low-carbon energy industrial complexes to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Image credit: (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

Indonesia: CO2 emissions for Indonesia was 625.7 million tonnes in 2019, continuing in its upwards trajectory. Indonesia is also only one of five other countries that started new coal plant construction in 2020. In its five-year development plan covering 2020-24, Indonesia foresees an increase in renewable power capacity and less-carbon intensive, more energy efficient systems which would help cut country’s greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 43 percent by 2030. This would also help improve air quality and avoid 40,000 deaths each year in 2045.

Image credit: Vehicles on a Toll road with dense polluted air. Jakarta has lately been at the top of the list of cities with the worst air quality in the world, President Joko Widodo urged the Jakarta government to switch to electric mass transportation in an effort to reduce emission of air pollutants in the city. (Photo by Agung Fatma Putra/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia: The oil-rich Middle Eastern nation emitted 614.6 million tons of CO2 in 2019. Over the last five decades, the country has seen an annual average growth rate of 5.85 percent from 47 million tonnes in 1970. As per The Climate Accountability Institute, the state home owned petroleum and national gas giant, Saudi Aramco has been the biggest contributor to global carbon dioxide emissions since 1960. As per its Vision 2030 strategy for renewable energy, the Saudi Arabia Government aims at achieving 27.3 GW by 2023 and 57.8 GW by 2030. However, the Climate Action Tracker, has said that its 2030 climate commitment is unclear due to the lack of availability of clear data and the absence of any national emissions projection. Saudi Arabia has also unveiled a zero-carbon city project called The Line, which would have zero cars, zero streets and zero carbon emissions.

Image credit: (Photo by Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images)