Per capita CO₂ emissions in China now match those in the United Kingdom

When I was born in the 1990s, the average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United Kingdom were about six times higher than in China, but these trends have converged in my lifetime.

You can see this in the chart: in 2022, China’s per capita emissions matched those in the UK.

Once a country that ran on coal, the UK has closed its last coal plant. This has been the main driver of its emissions decline.

Meanwhile, rapid economic growth, powered mainly by coal, has ramped up emissions in China.

These emission numbers are adjusted for trade. Based on domestic production, China’s per capita emissions are much higher than the UK's. But since China is a net exporter of goods (and emissions) and the UK is a net importer, the gap closes when we adjust for consumption.

These emissions are based on domestic consumption and do not include international aviation or shipping, where Brits are likely to emit more.

There are many ways to compare national contributions to climate change; explore them here →

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Our World in Data. “Per capita CO₂ emissions in China now match those in the United Kingdom” by Hannah Ritchie, published by Our World in Data under CC BY 4.0. Changed here: set as a page, its interactive charts shown as pictures. Data from third parties keeps its own licence.

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