At first glance, the carbon dioxide emission rates for India appear high compared to more industrialised countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom. This is misleading as India's population is significantly higher than those countries. If this statistic is viewed per capita, India's ranking falls to 115th, signficantly lower than Germany (22nd) and the United Kingdom (25th).

Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere when wood or fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas are burned. The largest contribution to carbon dioxide emissions are fossil fuel powered electricity generation, some industrial processes (such as metal refining) and motor vehicle exhaust.

India has only 12 motor vehicles per 1000 people, however 81% of its electicity is generated from fossil fuels.

Under the terms of the Kyoto Protocol, the U.K. must limit annual greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5 percent below 1990 levels for the 2008-2012 period. Emissions were 14.4 percent below in 2002, and 13.4 percent below in 2003, but just 12.6 percent below in 2004.

The government has previously admitted that the U.K. will not meet the target in the Labour party’s 1997 election platform of reducing CO2 emissions 20% from 1990 levels by 2010. The latest figures show the U.K.’s CO2 emissions in 2004 were just 4.2% below 1990 levels.

However, the combustion of fossil fuels by humans generates considerable amounts of carbon dioxide. Emissions of carbon dioxide as a result of human activities tend to rise and fall in correlation with Gross Domestic Product. Many scientists believe that carbon dioxide emissions from human activities contribute to global warming.