Wealthier industrial countries contribute the most to global warming since they use most of the world’s fossil fuels. Europe, Japan, and North America—with roughly 15 percent of the world’s current population—are estimated to account for two-thirds of the carbon dioxide now in the atmosphere. With less than five percent of world population, the United States has been the single-largest source of carbon from fossil fuels for many years. Recent figures suggest that as China’s economy has grown, it surpassed the U.S. in carbon emissions for the first time in 2006, producing 6.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions. Yet the average person in China produces less than one-eighth as much carbon dioxide as the average American. Per capita, Australians are the worst carbon emitters – with an average emission of 14 tonnes each year.
One degree
