127
The US emitted 2.6 Gt CO 2 in 1950, which was the largest individual national
source, followed by the former Soviet Union and the UK, at 0.67 and 0.52 Gt CO 2 ,
respectively (Fig. 3.4). At that time, there was a wide disparity in pC
IN
. The island
nation of Bahrain led the way at 29.5 t CO 2 ppy, followed by Luxembourg and
Kuwait at 25.1 and 20.0 t CO 2 ppy, respectively. We have chosen both the color bar
for Fig. 3.5 (does not cover the full range of pC
IN
) and the method of presentation
(world map) to highlight major emitters in terms of CO 2
FF-IN
, rather than small
nations that have very large values of pC
IN
. Of the major emitters in 1950 (i.e., top
six emitters in terms of CO 2
FF-IN
), the US had a pC
IN
of 16.3 t CO 2 ppy, followed by
Canada and the UK, at 11.6 and 10.3 t CO 2 ppy, respectively. In 1950, China emitted
0.081 Gt CO 2 , with a per-capita emission of 0.15 t CO 2 ppy.
The release of CO 2 by the combustion of fossil fuels was in the midst of a rapid rise
in 1970 (Fig. 3.1). The US was the largest emitter, at 4.38 Gt CO 2 , followed by the
former Soviet Union and Germany, at 2.32 and 1.04 Gt CO 2 , respectively (Fig. 3.4). In
1970, the largest per-capita emissions were from the nations of Qatar, UAE, and Brunei
Darussalam, at 69.2, 64.9, and 63.3 t CO 2 ppy, respectively. Of the top six emitters in
Fig. 3.5 Per-capita fossil fuel CO 2 emission maps, 1950–2010. Per-capita national emissions of
CO 2
FF
, termed pC
IN
, in units of metric tons of CO 2 per person per year (t CO 2 ppy). The color bar
was chosen to highlight emissions from large nations that dominate the global burden of total emissions, and therefore does not cover the full range of pC
IN
. In 2010, the largest values of pC
IN were
from Qatar and the nation of Trinidad and Tobago, at 44.7 and 39.5 t CO 2 ppy, respectively. See
Methods for further information
3.2 Prior Emissions