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The shocking truth about global CO2 emissions in 2023: Which countries are the biggest culprits?
In 2023, global greenhouse gas emissions reached a staggering 53.0 GtCO2eq, the highest on record. Compared with 2022, the increase was 1.9%, equivalent to 9.94 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. China, the United States, India, the EU-27, Russia and Brazil are the largest emitters, together accounting for 49.8% of the world's population, 63.2% of global GDP, 64.2% of global fossil fuel consumption and 62.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
“The emission data of these countries not only affects the global climate, but may also cause irreversible damage to the future ecological environment.”
China has been the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter since 2006. Still, relying solely on total emissions to assess countries’ responsibilities is insufficient because it does not take into account the size of their populations. Although China has the largest emissions, its per capita emissions are actually lower than those of the United States, given its large population.
“In terms of per capita emissions, China (9.24 tons) emits almost two-thirds of the United States (13.83 tons), while Palau (62.59 tons) is the country with the highest per capita emissions.”
In addition, environmental experts point out that the traditional territorial-based method of calculating emissions cannot fully reflect a country's environmental impact. Because the carbon dioxide emitted by many countries during the production process is actually paid for the consumption of other countries.
For example, many emissions in Asia and Africa are produced to produce goods that are shipped to Europe and North America, making it difficult for purchasing countries to see their direct contribution to global climate change.
"The consequences of global warming are obvious. Intensified droughts, melting polar ice caps, and rising sea levels are all reminders that we must act."
Climate change is already having significant impacts on ecosystems around the world. According to scientific literature, carbon dioxide is the main anthropogenic greenhouse gas and contributes most to global warming. With the global average temperature rising by 1.1°C since industrialization, this not only threatens global biodiversity, but also poses major challenges to human lifestyles.
Responsibilities of the world's highest emitters
Among these high emitters, emissions growth in India and China is of particular concern. In 2023, India's relative increase was as high as 6.1%, while China became the main source of global emissions growth with an absolute increase of 7.84 million tons. This has sparked a heated debate on how to formulate and implement emission reduction policies.
“Environmental nonprofits are calling on governments to recognize that relying solely on domestic output does not mean they can evade greater global responsibilities.”
It is worth noting that international trade in emissions also plays an important role in this process. Carbon emissions from the production process are often passed on to the final consumer country. This allows some countries to shift responsibility at a relatively low emission cost when exporting goods, which deserves further investigation and countermeasures by international regulators.
Currently, global greenhouse gas emissions are facing greater pressure, especially the dilemma of finding a balance between pursuing economic growth and climate responsibility. Cooperation among countries is becoming increasingly important. Only by working together can we combat the increasingly severe global warming crisis.
In the days ahead, countries need to halt rising emissions and, in particular, invest more in technological innovation and the development of renewable energy. How can we strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection and ultimately leave a sustainable living environment for future generations?
