4.2 International carbon footprints

International comparisons are easy to make but sometimes difficult to explain. They almost always start with the simple per capita average (the 8.78 tCO₂e value) and compare this with other countries. On this measure the worst performers are usually the USA and the Gulf States. The common factors are cheap energy (especially coal or oil), widespread use of air conditioning and limited public transport systems.

In Europe, Luxembourg is the worst performer but this is due to a large steel industry using coal, relative to a low resident population. According to the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), per capita statistics for 2006 (the latest available), the UK ranks 38th globally, with the USA 9th and China 82nd, with emissions around half those of the UK. (China is now believed to be the largest emitter in absolute terms, with the USA second and the UK 8th.) It is salutary that the countries with the lowest emissions are failed states such as Afghanistan and Somalia.

You can find a map showing global per capita CO₂ emissions by country, with brief explanations of some of the differences on the National Energy Foundation website.