In 2021, carbon dioxide emissions will experience the second largest increase in history: an additional 1.5 billion tonnes. This is what data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows.
The Global Carbon Atlas published in 2018 a list of the most polluting countries in the world. Here are the top 15 in the ranking.
1st China
China tops the list, with 10 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted per year. This represents almost 28% of total global emissions. The most polluting country in the world is fighting to eliminate CO2 emissions from the atmosphere by 2030.
2nd United States
The United States has been at the top of the rankings for over 160 years.
Currently, the country emits around 5.2 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, ranking second.
3rd India
India closes the group of three most polluting countries, with 2,600 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted. The burning of oil and the rise of consumer goods, such as automobiles and electronics, are the main reasons the country remains in third place.
4th Russia
Massive industrialization during the Soviet Union continues to impact the Russians and places the country in fourth place with 1.6 billion tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere each year.
5th Japan
With 1,100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted each year, Japan identifies industrial production as the main villain in the fight against global pollution.
6th Iran
Iran is responsible for the emission of 780 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. In 2010, the authorities had to declare a public holiday in the city of Tehran due to the high level of air pollution in the capital of the country.
7th Germany
Germany is the country in the European Union which pollutes the most. With 702 million tons of CO2 emitted annually, the Germans have in their thermoelectric power stations and in the expansion of the livestock sector the main responsible for occupying the seventh position in the ranking.
8th Indonesia
Indonesia ranks eighth for emitting 618 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. In 2018, the people of Jakarta sued the country’s government for air pollution negligence.
9th South Korea
The country, which is the fourth largest economy in Asia, releases 611 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. Seoul City is South Korea’s most polluted city, home to most of the country’s industrial areas.
10th Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia emits 582 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The country is the world’s largest oil exporter and the capital, Riyadh, was once considered the most polluted city in the world.
11th Canada
The approximately 577 million tonnes of CO2 that Canada releases into the atmosphere each year have already had concrete effects in the country itself: this year, the greenhouse effect made Canadians endure temperatures above 49 ° C.
12th South Africa
South Africa emits 479 million tonnes of CO2. According to researchers from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, pollution kills more people on the African continent than diseases caused by untreated water and malnutrition.
13th Brazil
With 466 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted each year, Brazil is one of the Latin American countries that pollutes the environment the most. The goal is to achieve CO2 neutrality by 2050.
14th Mexico
Until the 1990s, Mexico City was considered the most polluted city in the world. Mexico emits 439 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year and intends to reduce this amount by 22% by 2030.
15th Australia
Australia emits 411 million tonnes of CO2 and has been fighting forest fires, one of the main causes of air pollution in the country for years. From July 2019 to January 2020, the country had around 10 million hectares destroyed by fire.
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