Who Are The Biggest Contributors To Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

In this article, we will focus on global greenhouse gas emissions.

Natasha
3 min readApr 11, 2022

The data came from Our World In Data, a website that supplies interesting datasets and visualisations on various topics. The built-in features in Tableau Desktop and Charticulator helped produce the visualisations.

Introduction

In the battle against climate change, understanding the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions is paramount. This article delves into the exploration of the industries, sectors, and regions responsible for significant carbon emissions. By identifying these key players, we can devise targeted strategies to mitigate their environmental impact and strive for a more sustainable future.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions By Sector

Greenhouse Gas Emissions By Sector

From the analysis, the energy sector is contributing the most to greenhouse gas emissions with a massive 73.2%. This amount can be brown down into the following sub-sectors.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions By Sub-Sector

If we look at the sub-sectors, within the energy sector, iron and steel dominate with 7.2%, followed by chemical & petrochemical with 3.6%. Energy in buildings accounts for 17.5%, and transportation accounts for 16.2%. However, energy in agriculture and fishing only accounts for 1.7%

Greenhouse Gas Emissions By Sub-Sector
Greenhouse Gas Emissions By Sub-Sector — Further Breakdown

We can look at this information in several ways.
The following chart uses the nightingale chart to plot the sub-sectors.
It quickly becomes apparent who the most significant contributors per sub-sector are.

Nightingale Chart — Greenhouse Gas Emissions By Sub-Sector Globally

Greenhouse Gas Emissions By Sector (Per capita)- Filtered By Country

As we can see from the following charts, transportation seems to be one of the most significant contributors for the UK, US, Germany, China, and India.

Data Visualisation — Greenhouse Gas Emissions — UK
Data Visualisation — Greenhouse Gas Emissions — US
Data Visualisation — Greenhouse Gas Emissions — Germany
Data Visualisation — Greenhouse Gas Emissions — China
Data Visualisation — Greenhouse Gas Emissions — India

Final Words

Identifying the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions is essential for addressing climate change. Through comprehensive analysis, we can prioritize efforts towards reducing emissions from industries, energy production, and transportation. By holding accountable these major contributors, we pave the way for a sustainable and greener future.

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