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Visualizing 170 Years of Cumulative GHG Emissions

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Visualizing 170 Years of Cumulative GHG Emissions

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In this graphic, we provide a unique perspective on global climate emissions by visualizing cumulative GHG emissions by region, from 1850 to 2022.

All figures were sourced from Climate Watch (PIK PRIMAP-hist dataset), and are represented in gigatons of CO₂ equivalent. One gigaton is equal to one billion metric tons.

Data and Key Takeaways

The numbers we used to create this graphic are listed in the table below. All figures in GtCO₂e.

Note that these totals are based on the Kyoto Protocol categories of GHG emissions: CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF₆. This data also excludes emissions from “land use change and forestry”.

Year East Asia
& Pacific		 Europe
& Central Asia		 Latin America
& Caribbean		 Middle East
& North Africa		 North
America		 South
Asia		 Sub-Saharan
Africa
1850 318 601 52 21 146 235 67
1851 634 1,203 105 42 302 472 134
1852 950 1,813 158 63 462 710 202
1853 1,266 2,435 213 84 629 949 270
1854 1,581 3,102 268 105 802 1,190 339
1855 1,896 3,769 324 127 985 1,432 408
1856 2,209 4,459 380 148 1,172 1,675 477
1857 2,522 5,152 438 170 1,364 1,919 547
1858 2,833 5,851 496 192 1,559 2,164 618
1859 3,145 6,567 555 214 1,760 2,411 689
1860 3,456 7,317 615 237 1,967 2,660 760
1861 3,768 8,092 676 259 2,172 2,909 832
1862 4,079 8,874 737 282 2,382 3,159 904
1863 4,390 9,676 799 304 2,603 3,411 977
1864 4,701 10,511 862 327 2,829 3,664 1,050
1865 5,013 11,377 925 350 3,057 3,918 1,124
1866 5,325 12,262 989 373 3,288 4,173 1,198
1867 5,637 13,168 1,054 397 3,536 4,428 1,272
1868 5,949 14,081 1,120 420 3,796 4,685 1,347
1869 6,261 15,019 1,186 444 4,069 4,943 1,423
1870 6,573 15,965 1,253 467 4,351 5,204 1,499
1871 6,886 16,947 1,321 492 4,642 5,465 1,575
1872 7,203 17,979 1,390 516 4,963 5,727 1,653
1873 7,522 19,046 1,460 541 5,304 5,991 1,731
1874 7,845 20,075 1,532 566 5,645 6,257 1,811
1875 8,172 21,170 1,604 592 5,993 6,525 1,892
1876 8,501 22,286 1,678 618 6,343 6,794 1,974
1877 8,833 23,407 1,753 645 6,716 7,065 2,057
1878 9,169 24,541 1,829 672 7,091 7,338 2,142
1879 9,509 25,699 1,906 700 7,506 7,612 2,227
1880 9,852 26,948 1,984 727 7,955 7,888 2,314
1881 10,198 28,222 2,063 756 8,420 8,166 2,401
1882 10,546 29,528 2,145 784 8,917 8,447 2,489
1883 10,898 30,883 2,228 813 9,438 8,730 2,577
1884 11,254 32,235 2,312 842 9,978 9,016 2,666
1885 11,612 33,593 2,399 872 10,525 9,304 2,755
1886 11,974 34,955 2,486 902 11,092 9,594 2,845
1887 12,340 36,352 2,577 932 11,684 9,887 2,936
1888 12,708 37,806 2,669 962 12,358 10,183 3,027
1889 13,081 39,308 2,764 993 12,987 10,481 3,119
1890 13,458 40,858 2,862 1,025 13,700 10,784 3,212
1891 13,841 42,452 2,961 1,056 14,446 11,087 3,306
1892 14,227 44,036 3,064 1,088 15,220 11,392 3,401
1893 14,617 45,599 3,168 1,121 16,003 11,697 3,498
1894 15,013 47,254 3,275 1,153 16,753 12,005 3,597
1895 15,415 48,946 3,385 1,186 17,568 12,314 3,697
1896 15,821 50,695 3,497 1,219 18,386 12,625 3,799
1897 16,232 52,510 3,611 1,253 19,230 12,937 3,902
1898 16,651 54,373 3,728 1,287 20,128 13,252 4,007
1899 17,074 56,328 3,848 1,321 21,124 13,569 4,113
1900 17,509 58,358 3,970 1,355 22,167 13,889 4,216
1901 17,954 60,381 4,101 1,390 23,285 14,210 4,321
1902 18,404 62,410 4,236 1,424 24,456 14,532 4,430
1903 18,863 64,501 4,376 1,460 25,779 14,854 4,542
1904 19,331 66,628 4,522 1,495 27,099 15,177 4,655
1905 19,806 68,798 4,672 1,531 28,541 15,501 4,771
1906 20,309 71,027 4,830 1,567 30,046 15,827 4,889
1907 20,821 73,440 4,993 1,603 31,762 16,155 5,009
1908 21,350 75,890 5,164 1,639 33,309 16,487 5,131
1909 21,878 78,347 5,337 1,676 34,985 16,817 5,256
1910 22,415 80,836 5,519 1,713 36,787 17,145 5,384
1911 22,975 83,366 5,711 1,750 38,590 17,476 5,514
1912 23,525 85,972 5,909 1,789 40,500 17,813 5,647
1913 24,090 88,742 6,115 1,828 42,544 18,154 5,785
1914 24,673 91,285 6,320 1,868 44,436 18,496 5,924
1915 25,254 93,734 6,533 1,909 46,381 18,840 6,067
1916 25,848 96,260 6,752 1,952 48,522 19,186 6,216
1917 26,460 98,729 6,981 1,996 50,853 19,536 6,369
1918 27,087 101,025 7,221 2,042 53,279 19,890 6,524
1919 27,730 103,089 7,477 2,089 55,381 20,251 6,683
1920 28,384 105,376 7,770 2,138 57,792 20,602 6,848
1921 29,030 107,514 8,079 2,189 59,839 20,959 7,015
1922 29,691 109,847 8,396 2,243 61,885 21,319 7,181
1923 30,372 112,130 8,712 2,301 64,487 21,684 7,355
1924 31,071 114,667 9,037 2,361 66,842 22,055 7,534
1925 31,778 117,192 9,363 2,423 69,275 22,428 7,718
1926 32,487 119,479 9,687 2,486 71,889 22,806 7,907
1927 33,221 122,218 10,012 2,553 74,461 23,189 8,099
1928 33,966 124,961 10,338 2,622 77,006 23,573 8,293
1929 34,722 127,888 10,675 2,692 79,707 23,963 8,491
1930 35,473 130,723 11,010 2,765 82,153 24,357 8,688
1931 36,216 133,436 11,342 2,837 84,279 24,751 8,883
1932 36,964 136,025 11,692 2,913 86,140 25,146 9,076
1933 37,740 138,675 12,055 2,992 88,110 25,544 9,273
1934 38,547 141,518 12,431 3,082 90,191 25,952 9,475
1935 39,382 144,471 12,822 3,184 92,331 26,366 9,681
1936 40,254 147,573 13,219 3,291 94,740 26,783 9,893
1937 41,147 150,875 13,639 3,408 97,247 27,210 10,112
1938 42,052 154,187 14,064 3,527 99,426 27,647 10,337
1939 42,991 157,572 14,482 3,677 101,795 28,087 10,567
1940 43,989 161,092 14,911 3,812 104,419 28,534 10,803
1941 45,030 164,510 15,357 3,931 107,257 28,987 11,052
1942 46,058 167,793 15,808 4,078 110,308 29,444 11,322
1943 47,096 171,186 16,271 4,237 113,468 29,895 11,613
1944 48,121 174,325 16,760 4,426 116,852 30,353 11,936
1945 49,015 176,728 17,266 4,666 120,158 30,820 12,286
1946 49,868 179,667 17,856 5,004 123,395 31,288 12,664
1947 50,769 182,984 18,413 5,351 126,930 31,753 13,067
1948 51,704 186,520 18,992 5,654 130,624 32,219 13,495
1949 52,728 190,319 19,579 5,978 133,845 32,693 13,948
1950 53,792 194,315 20,190 6,182 137,487 33,181 14,422
1951 54,933 198,646 20,837 6,392 141,240 33,679 14,911
1952 56,144 203,119 21,509 6,592 144,931 34,188 15,413
1953 57,402 207,726 22,196 6,800 148,714 34,702 15,916
1954 58,730 212,600 22,908 7,026 152,383 35,225 16,424
1955 60,134 217,858 23,698 7,267 156,357 35,761 16,945
1956 61,618 223,444 24,513 7,520 160,525 36,307 17,474
1957 63,204 229,271 25,369 7,799 164,685 36,873 18,010
1958 65,141 235,203 26,182 8,106 168,786 37,450 18,556
1959 67,355 241,281 27,094 8,423 173,012 38,040 19,108
1960 69,721 247,666 28,006 8,807 177,358 38,651 19,677
1961 71,900 254,268 28,927 9,219 181,725 39,273 20,277
1962 73,998 261,202 29,859 9,653 186,277 39,914 20,892
1963 76,163 268,546 30,825 10,119 191,046 40,572 21,520
1964 78,435 276,183 31,829 10,582 196,046 41,233 22,176
1965 80,844 284,067 32,874 11,073 201,265 41,911 22,865
1966 83,395 292,202 33,948 11,688 206,722 42,603 23,571
1967 85,975 300,521 35,075 12,242 212,406 43,302 24,307
1968 88,727 309,140 36,245 12,894 218,305 44,027 25,038
1969 91,759 318,141 37,464 13,662 224,469 44,762 25,792
1970 95,258 327,440 38,721 14,483 230,941 45,520 26,640
1971 98,969 336,954 39,999 15,373 237,423 46,291 27,425
1972 102,829 346,798 41,321 16,327 244,176 47,075 28,238
1973 106,866 357,068 42,692 17,440 251,198 47,876 29,098
1974 110,937 367,374 44,133 18,538 258,035 48,693 29,939
1975 115,181 377,716 45,606 19,603 264,634 49,549 30,791
1976 119,555 388,521 47,130 20,778 271,474 50,424 31,655
1977 124,162 399,392 48,686 21,981 278,454 51,329 32,564
1978 128,966 410,524 50,337 23,194 285,604 52,254 33,473
1979 133,923 421,884 52,021 24,496 292,833 53,206 34,480
1980 138,904 433,223 53,778 25,733 299,851 54,179 35,492
1981 143,853 444,254 55,558 26,809 306,668 55,198 36,487
1982 148,944 455,169 57,345 27,822 313,123 56,238 37,532
1983 154,179 466,112 59,078 28,851 319,588 57,333 38,571
1984 159,721 477,179 60,824 29,947 326,276 58,456 39,613
1985 165,459 488,623 62,603 31,094 332,952 59,634 40,670
1986 171,365 500,121 64,419 32,300 339,567 60,865 41,736
1987 177,530 511,650 66,296 33,542 346,418 62,132 42,845
1988 184,071 523,291 68,199 34,877 353,523 63,473 43,941
1989 190,810 534,913 70,151 36,299 360,709 64,883 45,090
1990 197,596 546,169 72,112 37,725 367,792 66,336 46,284
1991 204,628 557,017 74,110 39,504 374,788 67,840 47,504
1992 211,839 567,057 76,132 41,074 381,921 69,392 48,727
1993 219,296 576,687 78,208 42,752 389,166 70,986 49,984
1994 227,136 585,808 80,342 44,438 396,531 72,644 51,282
1995 235,493 594,857 82,542 46,113 403,993 74,376 52,647
1996 244,228 603,944 84,811 47,835 411,677 76,209 54,067
1997 253,113 612,806 87,180 49,569 419,437 78,102 55,543
1998 261,701 621,615 89,656 51,390 427,253 80,035 57,052
1999 270,518 630,263 92,140 53,306 435,132 82,063 58,564
2000 279,675 638,954 94,627 55,370 443,225 84,143 60,123
2001 289,034 647,732 97,151 57,482 451,199 86,223 61,708
2002 298,911 656,489 99,721 59,628 459,218 88,325 63,322
2003 309,766 665,400 102,361 61,946 467,306 90,495 65,014
2004 321,598 674,361 105,042 64,436 475,517 92,749 66,762
2005 334,376 683,330 107,800 67,049 483,733 95,083 68,550
2006 347,834 692,429 110,609 69,786 491,872 97,523 70,347
2007 361,787 701,515 113,506 72,525 500,135 100,085 72,222
2008 376,171 710,524 116,547 75,434 508,160 102,782 74,140
2009 390,938 718,903 119,533 78,442 515,683 105,661 76,042
2010 406,591 727,530 122,623 81,574 523,439 108,561 78,050
2011 423,457 736,127 125,758 84,740 531,054 111,589 80,120
2012 440,767 744,700 128,959 88,104 538,434 114,738 82,200
2013 458,294 753,108 132,214 91,507 546,001 117,979 84,334
2014 476,019 761,337 135,522 95,063 553,615 121,352 86,563
2015 493,676 769,564 138,819 98,727 561,071 124,947 88,803
2016 511,223 777,815 142,124 102,435 568,349 128,725 91,069
2017 529,071 786,165 145,427 106,249 575,614 132,684 93,386
2018 547,504 794,541 148,696 110,129 583,082 136,780 95,752
2019 566,376 802,686 151,982 114,014 590,409 140,941 98,157
2020 585,439 810,394 155,122 117,801 597,081 144,945 100,566
2021 604,972 818,442 158,483 121,771 604,084 149,254 103,019
2022 624,725 826,261 161,889 125,887 611,161 153,693 105,500

All figures in GtCO₂e

From this graphic, we can identify the three largest regional emitters as Europe & Central Asia, East Asia & Pacific, and North America. Together, they account for 79% of global cumulative GHG emissions since 1850. This is the equivalent of 2.06 million gigatons, or 2,060,000,000,000,000 metric tons of CO₂e.

The sharp uptrends of these three regions coincides with various factors, such as industrialization, population growth, and rising consumption.

When interpreting this data, it’s interesting to consider each region’s total population. For example, the North America region (U.S. and Canada) has a population of around 375 million people, which is far less than the 2.4 billion in East Asia & Pacific.

As the latter continues to become more developed, it’s likely to surpass Central Asia & Europe as well, given the very steep trajectory shown in this graphic.

Learn More About Global Emissions From Visual Capitalist

If you enjoyed this graphic, be sure to check out Ranked: Per Capita Carbon Emissions by Country.

The post Visualizing 170 Years of Cumulative GHG Emissions appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

Source
Environment
North America
Europe