The US Is Responsible For 26% Of Global Warming Emissions

Pointing the finger at China or a developing country like India when it comes to CO₂ emission might be easy but should it be just that easy to ignore the emissions that the 3rd largest country in the world is responsible for? Data from the Global Carbon Project by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) gives us a comprehensive understanding of the role that each & every country has played as a contributor to Global Warming, spanning over a 100 years. 

At the beginning of the 20th Century, industrialization was in full swing and naturally, UK was a big contributor at around 18 billion tons, with USA at about 12 billion. At this point in time, China was the quiet kid of the class; 95,000 tons. 65 years later, America has entered the prestigious triple-digit-billion club and stands at a staggering 138 billion tons, while China has just about reached the point where USA was at the turn of the 20th Century. In 2016, the total CO₂ emission of USA stood just under the 400 billion mark, while the data for China indicated that its total emissions were under half of USA’s, with 4 times their population. India was still under 50 billion, just to put this fact out there.

An interesting fact about comparing emissions by USA and other countries is that it will take 28 countries’ worth of emissions, who were among the first to industrialize, to even get close to the total CO₂ emission of USA; USA is responsible for CO₂ contribution more than any other country or even a single region.

Sure, currently China is a leader in emissions (with double emissions per year as of USA) but we have to keep in mind that they have 4 times the people. At the same time, China is very conscious of this and is working in a manner so as to reduce the impact that it can have; China is generating more energy from clean, renewable sources as compared to USA and already has coal on the back-foot. The number of electric buses in China have crossed 100,000, with individual cities having entirely electric bus fleets. 

The sale of electric cars have gone up and China is also forcing companies to follow strict rules with regard to electrification. If you think about it, Elon Musk & Tesla shouldn’t be the focus of the automobile sector, at least not in the way they are now. Looks like USA have overlooked their massive contribution to global warming emissions, as they push more gas & diesel automobiles into the market. Climate change seems to be an issue they have (quite literally) decided to walk away from, but you can only ignore your problems up to the point they come and bite you right in your CO₂  emissions.