IB Environmental systems and societies 6.2E Varying Responsibility for Climate Change Notes

Responsibility and Vulnerability Rarely Match: Those Who Emitted Least Suffer Most

1. Countries differ sharply in how much they have contributed to global climate change.
2. Responsibility is measured using current emissions, cumulative emissions, per-capita emissions, and economic structure.
3. Industrialised, high-income economies have historically produced most greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution.
4. Some developing nations now have large national emissions from population size, yet their per-capita emissions remain low.
5. Oil-rich states have some of the world's highest per-capita emissions from energy-intensive lifestyles and resource extraction.

National Totals: Population and Industry Push Big Emitters to the Top

1. The largest total annual CO₂ emitters are China, the United States, India, Russia, and Japan.
2. Large populations and rapid industrialisation raise national totals even when per-person emissions are modest.
3. China has the largest national emissions today from its manufacturing output and energy demand.
4. India's national emissions are large because of its population, not because of high emissions per person.

Per-Capita Emissions: Wealth and Lifestyle, Not Population, Drive the Highest Rates

1. Oil-rich Gulf states
   1. Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates rank among the highest per-capita emitters.
2. Wealthy high-consumption nations
   1. Australia, the USA, and Canada have high emissions per person from energy-intensive living.
3. Tourism-dependent islands
   1. These have high per-capita emissions from heavy transport and energy needs.
4. Large-population, lower-income countries generally have far lower emissions per person.
5. Per-capita values expose the inequality in consumption and lifestyle across the globe.