Worldwide CO₂ Emissions

Topic Box from the 2009 Ninth Annual Benchmark Report

Worldwide data are not available on the six main gases the United Nations (UN) tracks, but they are available for CO2. In 2007, carbon dioxide (CO2) represented 83.0 percent of the greenhouse gases tracked by the UN. For the 41 countries under review, total GHG emissions have fallen 4.0 percent over the period 1990 to 2007.

According to preliminary estimates, China was the largest emitter of CO2 in 2008. China and the US produced 42 percent of total global emissions in 2008. India, the Russian Federation, and Japan are responsible for six, five and four percent each, respectively. Out of 70 countries, the ten largest emitters, including Canada at 1.9 percent of the total, are responsible for 66.8 percent of global CO2 emissions.