Environment > Pollution > Carbon Dioxide per capita: Countries Compared

Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Monitoring Diagnostics Laboratory on Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii say the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) there has reached a new high of 378 parts per million. <p>They also report that the annual growth rate of CO2, which has increased every year since 1958, has been about twice as high in the past decade as it was in the 1960s. However, the increase in the past year was lower than in the previous two years. <p>The Mauna Loa lab, located 3,500 meters (11,500 feet) above sea level, is ideal for atmospheric research because there is no obvious pollution source or natural sink, such as a forest, nearby.

Per capita is what is important. Mind you, environmental conservation is not a race between countries, it is a global effort together.

As far as nature is concerned, China isn't an entity. We're all in the same boat, and if they can emit less per capita, that's what matters.

And not only that, China has done one thing great, and that is getting its act together to control that 1.3 billion population. And with China so rapidly developing better public transit systems and alternative energy technologies, I think the problem is actually back home, where we waste on SUV's, 5000-watt electric clothes dryers and living in sprawled, inefficient suburbia.

How recent is this data? I just see 1998 mentioned.

Joe, Europe does not have a single currency, it has multiple currencies. The UK for example still has the pound (sterling) and does not use the euro.

You cannot calculate the per capita pollution from Europe from the data above. You need to know the actual CO2 numbers and the population of each country and re-compute the equation. It is not simply a matter of summing the numbers. I agree that it would be interesting to see the overall EU number but I would expect it to be lower than the US given the average home sizes and cars are smaller.

You act like because China and India aren't on the list that it's some sort of conspiracy.

China has three times the population of the US but only recently surpassed it as the #1 CO2 emitting country.

This reflects poorly on the US NOT on China. They have a huge population, their CO2 usage is completely expected.

What's disgusting is how entitled Americans think they are. One single American uses the most amount of energy in the world.

Where is CHINA???

CHINA is the #1 CO2 emitter country, yet that FACT is conveniently covered up because some people like to divide up their CO2 output by their 1.3+ billion population.

Isn't that special...

So actually the EU is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide per capita. Since the EU is under one leader and has a trade block with the same currency its only fair to state they pollute the most.