Growing Emissions: Which Countries Are to Blame?

Looking at countries which grew their per-capita CO₂ emissions most between 1990 and 2022, countries on the Arabian Peninsula come out on top, but countries in Asia are most commonly found among the worst offenders. This is according to the Global Carbon Project database.

Countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman have some of the highest per-capita CO₂ emissions in the world and also some of the highest growth rates due to how cheaply oil and gas are available there. Taiwan and South Korea came in third and sixth on the list. This somewhat surprising result can be explained by the importance manufacturing continues to hold in their economies as well as the widespread burning of waste for energy. China also showed high per-capita CO₂ emission growth, but lower annual per-capita emissions than others in the top 8, similar to the result in Malaysia.

The chart lists major countries and regional economies with two million inhabitants or more. Omitted are small island nations that create high emissions like New Caledonia and Palau as well as Trinidad and Tobago.