The Asia-Pacific region produced 16.75 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2020. This was more than the combined total emissions of all other regions that year. China alone accounted for nearly 60 percent of Asia-Pacific CO2 emissions, and 31 percent of the global total. The second most polluting region in 2020 was North America, where 5.3 billion metric tons of CO2 were emitted. Emissions in Europe and North America fell roughly 12 percent in 2020 compared to 2019 levels, while those in the Asia-Pacific region reduced by roughly 2.5 percent.
COVID-19 causes emissions reductions
The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 resulted in strict lockdowns and restrictions being imposed in a bid to slow the spread of the virus. This caused dramatic emission reductions worldwide, as travel and industrial activities were disrupted. Some of the most significant reductions occurred in early 2020, when many of the first lockdowns were introduced. In April 2020, global energy-related CO2 emissions fell more than 14 percent when compared to the same month the previous year.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations
Although annual emissions fell substantially as a result of COVID-19, global atmospheric concentrations of CO2 reached a record high in 2020, averaging more than 414 parts per million. The increased burning of fossil fuels - as well as deforestation and other human activities - has seen atmospheric CO2 levels increase massively in recent decades. CO2 is the primary contributor to climate change.
Carbon dioxide emissions worldwide from 1965 to 2020, by region*
(in million metric tons of carbon dioxide)
* The carbon emissions in this statistic reflect only those emissions produced through consumption of oil, gas and coal, and are based on standard global average conversion factors. This does not allow for any carbon that is sequestered, for other sources of carbon emissions, or for emissions of other greenhouse gases. Therefore, the data is not comparable to official national emissions data.
North America figures include Mexico. From 1965 to 1984, CIS figures comprised of the USSR, which included CIS countries, in addition to Georgia, Ukraine and the Baltic States.
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BP. (July 8, 2021). Carbon dioxide emissions worldwide from 1965 to 2020, by region* (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/205966/world-carbon-dioxide-emissions-by-region/
BP. "Carbon dioxide emissions worldwide from 1965 to 2020, by region* (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide)." Chart. July 8, 2021. Statista. Accessed May 27, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/205966/world-carbon-dioxide-emissions-by-region/
BP. (2021). Carbon dioxide emissions worldwide from 1965 to 2020, by region* (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: May 27, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/205966/world-carbon-dioxide-emissions-by-region/
BP. "Carbon Dioxide Emissions Worldwide from 1965 to 2020, by Region* (in Million Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide)." Statista, Statista Inc., 8 Jul 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/205966/world-carbon-dioxide-emissions-by-region/
BP, Carbon dioxide emissions worldwide from 1965 to 2020, by region* (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/205966/world-carbon-dioxide-emissions-by-region/ (last visited May 27, 2022)
