2.3.3 Total carbon footprints

This is a world map with the continents and countries within them shown in outline. There are solid black circles superimposed over each country. The area of each circle represents the relative size of the estimated total carbon footprint in 2022 from the use of fossil fuels within that country in tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The map shows, for example, that by far the largest total carbon footprint in the world is that of China, followed by the United States, India, Russia and Japan. Japan’s carbon footprint is about one-tenth of China’s. Smaller in size and similar are the carbon footprints of Germany and Saudi Arabia. The total carbon footprints of South Africa, Australia and the UK are smaller still and also similar. The smallest total carbon footprints occur in many African and island nation countries. The actual sizes of the total carbon footprints can be found in a chart version of the same map online (Carbon Atlas).