Do rich countries necessarily have high GHG emissions?
This article deals about the linkage between emitted greenhouse gases and GDP per capita. The GDP per capita at PPP shows very much and is maybe the most important statistic in the Country Scorecard, as it measures the living standard. From a material point of view it is the best available measure. However, it ignores how this living standard is achieved and whether the economy is sustainable. It especially ignores the effect to the environment. In this article we will create a linkage between these two statistics. For the following statistics I used two statistics provided by the United Nations, which are also shown in the Country Scorecard. First, the GHG emissions per capita are taken. This figure shows how many greenhouse gases (GHG) are emitted by every citizen on average. This statistic includes carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) which account for about 98% of the environmental pressure leading to climate change. The last two gases are translated into CO2
Related Questions
- Rich countries are responsible for past emissions but poor countries are hardest hit. How should international action tackle the problems of the poorest countries?
- Are per capita carbon dioxide emissions converging among industrialized countries?
- Does Project 2° Emissions Tracker adhere to accepted GHG accounting protocol?
