China and America are in the lead, and Iraq is in the lowest ranks. A report reveals the countries t

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[size=52]China and America are in the lead, and Iraq is in the lowest ranks. A report reveals the countries that pollute the environment the most[/size]

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2023-12-14
On Thursday, the American CNN Arabia network highlighted the countries in the world that pollute the environment due to their consumption of fossil fuels in industrial production, with five countries on three continents topping the list, while Iraq was among the countries with the least negative impact on the environment.[/size]
[size=45]According to the American Network report, scientists are sounding the alarm about running out of time to cut fossil fuels.[/size]
[size=45]Data from the Climate Action Tracker, an independent research group, reveals how much pollution is still warming the planet, which countries are polluting the most, and how much progress still needs to be made.[/size]
[size=45]COP28 conference[/size]
[size=45]At the United Nations climate change conference “COP28”, countries discussed the extent of their progress towards the Paris Agreement’s pledge to keep global warming to less than two degrees Celsius, with the ambition of limiting this to 1.5 degrees Celsius.[/size]
[size=45]Years of international climate action have put the world on the right track, with projected global warming being much lower than it was a decade ago.[/size]
[size=45]But the pace is still very slow.[/size]
[size=45]“It's not that far off,” said Niklas Hone, a climate scientist at the nonprofit NewClimate Institute, which works on the Climate Action Tracker. "It's quite far away."[/size]
[size=45]A growing group of scientists have warned that the 1.5°C target may now be impossible, but that does not mean there is less urgency.[/size]
[size=45]“Every fraction of a degree makes a very big difference in impacts on the ground,” explained Taryn Fransen, director of science, research and data at the World Resources Institute's Global Climate Program.[/size]
[size=45]The difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius means that hundreds of millions of lives will be at risk from extreme weather events. For some ecosystems, this is a death sentence.[/size]
[size=45]Coral reefs[/size]
[size=45]Francine noted that for coral reefs, this is the difference between “wiping them off the face of the Earth” and being able to cling together.[/size]
[size=45]She stated that the task before us is like “redirecting a huge tanker,” and it cannot be done immediately or easily.[/size]
[size=45]She continued: “The problem is that the time limit has been exhausted, and now we have to turn the ship around very quickly.”[/size]
[size=45]Here's a look through the data below that shows why it's so difficult.[/size]
[size=45]The targets of the world's biggest climate polluters tell very different stories.[/size]
[size=45]China is the most polluted[/size]
[size=45]The rate of pollution resulting from heating the planet has risen in China, as the country has relied heavily on coal to develop its economy. But its emissions have begun to stabilize, and are expected to reach their peak by 2025, according to the Climate Action Tracker website. China has just committed, along with the United States, to promoting renewable energy and reducing all global greenhouse gas emissions.[/size]
[size=45]Pierre Friedlingstein, a professor of climate at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, said the country suffers from a paradox: China is developing renewable energy faster than anywhere in the world, but is also adding new coal-based energy.[/size]
[size=45]America and the European Union[/size]
[size=45]In the United States and the European Union, pollution levels caused by a warming planet have been falling for many years, as the United States and the European Union work to increase the ambition of their climate policies. Last year, US President Joe Biden signed the Anti-Inflation Act, the largest climate investment in the country's history, and the European Union laid out an ambitious plan to further expand clean energy.[/size]
[size=45]“There is still a long way to go,” said Niklas Hone, a climate scientist at the nonprofit NewClimate Institute, which works on the Climate Action Tracker. The United States and the European Union are starting at high levels of emissions, and there is still a long way to go to reach net zero emissions by 2050 - a plan to limit pollution from heating the planet to as close to zero as possible, and remove what remains from the atmosphere.[/size]
[size=45]India[/size]
[size=45]Fransen pointed out that India, where emissions are rising sharply, is often linked to China, which are two of the largest and most populous emerging economies in the world, pointing out that they differ in reality.[/size]
[size=45]India has come a long way in its development path, and has contributed very little to historical emissions. The country of more than 1.4 billion people has far lower emissions per capita than China, Fransen said, and is still grappling with “massive levels of poverty.”[/size]
[size=45]As India develops, its emissions are expected to increase. While it invests in major renewable energy projects, it also continues to rely on coal.[/size]
[size=45]When coal, oil and gas are burned, this process releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, where it remains and continues to warm the planet for hundreds of years.[/size]
[size=45]“What is causing climate change today is not just the amount of emissions that have occurred this year, but all the emissions that have occurred at least since the industrial revolution,” Fransen said.[/size]
[size=45]Although China may have been the largest polluter in 2022, the United States was the largest over time.[/size]
[size=45]developed countries[/size]
[size=45]Not only do developed countries bear greater historical responsibility for climate change, but they have built their economies and wealth on it. Many in the Global South argue that this means rich countries have a responsibility to cut emissions faster and reach net-zero emissions targets sooner.[/size]
[size=45]Honi pointed out that the concept of justice has been a tense topic during the Conferences of the Parties, since they began about 30 years ago.[/size]
[size=45]The numbers in this table show how much countries need to reduce pollution from heating the planet to meet what the Climate Action Tracker analysis indicates is their “fair share” of emissions reductions by 2030 to put them on track to meet the 1.5°C target.[/size]
[size=45]The analysis, based on more than 40 scientific studies, takes into account a range of factors including countries' historical emissions and their ability to pay for climate action.[/size]
[size=45]Fransen added that it reflects the fact that every country needs to act on climate change, but not all at the same pace. “Countries have different histories and capabilities,” she said.[/size]
[size=45]Honey noted that the European Union and the United States top the chart partly because of their huge responsibility for historical emissions.[/size]
[size=45]He added that developed countries have emitted so much over the past 200 years that they are “now in debt.”[/size]
[size=45]Africa[/size]
[size=45]At the other end of the table, Nigeria has much less historical responsibility for the climate crisis, and fewer resources to deal with it.[/size]
[size=45]For her part, Hannah Fickett of the NewClimate Institute, who works for the Climate Action Tracker, said that the country technically has “a lot of room left for emissions.”[/size]
[size=45]She added that this does not mean that Nigeria should not act, especially since the country is a large producer and exporter of fossil fuels.[/size]
[size=45]Friedlingstein considered that there are many different ways to determine a country's fair share of emissions reductions. Climate Action Tracker data is just one way to try to determine liability.[/size]
[size=45]He stressed that “there is no single answer” to the question of who should do what, as the matter is not related to physics or mathematics. “It is not about climate science, it is about decision, policy, and diplomacy.”[/size]
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