Tag: Super Facts

Ukraine Gave up Thousands of Nuclear Warheads

Super fact 47 : In 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine became the third largest nuclear power in the world after Russia and the United States. Ukraine held about one third of the former Soviet nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Ukraine agreed to transfer these weapons to Russia for dismantlement in exchange for economic compensation and assurances to respect Ukrainian independence and borders.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine inherited an estimated 1,700 to 1,900 strategic nuclear warheads, 130 UR-100N intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) with six warheads each, 46 RT-23 Molodets ICBMs with ten warheads apiece, and an estimated 2,650-4,200 tactical nuclear weapons. It should be noted that these nuclear warheads were not under Ukrainian control.

In 1994, Ukraine agreed to transfer these weapons to Russia for dismantlement in exchange for economic compensation and assurances from Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom to respect Ukrainian independence and sovereignty within its existing borders. These political agreements are referred to as the Budapest Memorandum.

These events are relevant to what is happening in Ukraine today, and yet it is seldom discussed, and many people are unaware of or have forgotten about this history. It also comes as a surprise to many that there are nuclear states who have relinquished their nuclear weapons. This is why I call this fact a super fact.

Atomic bomb explosion in a city - nuclear attack on a crowded city – 3D rendering of a mushroom cloud encompassing a city with skyscrapers.
Nuclear bomb dropped on a big city. Shutterstock, asset id: 2188083835 by CI Photos.

Nine Nuclear States

There are nine nuclear states in the world as of 2025 according to the Federation of Atomic Scientists. There are 12,331 nuclear warheads including 9,600 in active military stockpiles.

  • Russia – 5,449 warheads
  • The United States – 5,277 warheads
  • China – 600 warheads
  • France – 290 warheads
  • United Kingdom – 225 warheads
  • India – 180 warheads
  • Pakistan – 170 warheads
  • Israel – 90 warheads
  • North Korea – 50 warheads

There are also countries that are hosting nuclear warheads owned by other countries.

  • Italy (the United States) – 35 warheads
  • Turkey (the United States) – 20 warheads
  • Belgium (the United States) – 15 warheads
  • Germany (the United States) – 15 warheads
  • Netherlands (the United States) – 15 warheads
  • Belarus (Russia) – ? warheads
Nuclear bomb, chemical weapons, missile defense, a system of salvo fire.
Four missiles aimed at the sky at sunset.  Shutterstock, asset id: 2131803989 by Hamara

Four nations that relinquished their nuclear weapons programs

The four nations that relinquished their nuclear weapons programs are Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Africa, and Ukraine. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine returned their inherited nuclear weapons to Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, it should be noted that in 2023 Russia began deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. However, Belarus does not currently possess its own nuclear weapons. South Africa voluntarily dismantled its nuclear weapons program in 1991.

In 2023 Russia began deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.
Russia and Ukraine as well as the borders of Russia and Ukraine are colored and look different from other countries.
Russia (green) and Ukraine (brown) map on a world map. Ukraine is about the size of Texas. Russia is about twice the area of the United States. Belarus is the country located immediately to the north of Ukraine and Kazakhstan is the big country immediately to the south of Russia and east of Ukraine. Shutterstock Asset id: 2121271067 by buraktumler

How to Build a Nuclear Bomb

This section is just some extra reading that is only somewhat related to the topic. However, since it is an interesting topic somewhat related to the topic I might as well explain how to build a nuclear bomb. Don’t worry I will not present any engineering details, only general principals, which is all I know, and which are already all over internet. Besides if I were to give detailed engineering instructions some peacenik hippie might have a hissing fit and swear in the comment section (that was a joke).

Anyway, the main idea behind a nuclear fission bomb is to achieve a runaway chain reaction. A fusion bomb, or a so-called hydrogen bomb is different. To create a fission bomb you are not looking for the most radioactive materials there are. You are looking for a fuel which you can use to create a runaway chain reaction, and which is also stable enough to make a bomb possible, in other words not too radioactive. Basically, the fuel must be just right. The primary fuels used in fission bombs are uranium-235 and plutonium-239. These isotopes undergo fission when struck by neutrons, releasing a massive amount of energy in a chain reaction.

The image shows a Uranium atom on the left arrows in the middle and an alpha particle, a gamma ray, a proton, a neutron, and an electron on the right | Ukraine Gave up Thousands Nuclear Warheads
Uranium-235 and Uranium-238 are both not very radioactive and can be used for radiometric dating that stretches millions and billions of years. Uranium-235 is also the “just-right” uranium isotope that can be used for bomb making. Shutterstock Vector ID: 2417370135 by grayjay

I should explain, isotopes are different forms of an element. For example, hydrogen comes in three different forms, a nucleus with just a proton, a nucleus with one proton and one neutron (deuterium), and a nucleus with one proton and two neutrons (tritium). Isotopes for the same element are chemically identical but have different atomic weight and they may or may not be radioactive.

The three isotopes of Uranium are uranium-234, uranium-235, and uranium-238. The one we need is uranium-235, which has 92 protons and 143 neutrons in the nucleus. The isotopes of Plutonium include Pu-238, Pu-239, Pu-240, Pu-241, and Pu-242 but there are others. The one we need is plutonium-239, which has 94 protons and 145 neutrons in the nucleus. There are more than 3,500 known isotopes of which 3,000 are radioactive.

During Uranium-235 fission, an average of 2.5 neutrons are released. Specifically, the fission of U-235 typically releases 2 or 3 neutrons, with the average being close to 2.5. During the fission of plutonium-239, an average of 2.9 neutrons are released (depending on the energy of the incident neutron). The important thing for bomb making is that one atom/nucleus releases enough neutrons so that the neutrons from one nucleus cause more than one fission. For example, a nucleus releases three neutrons and two of those neutrons cause two more fission events, which in turn cause four fission events, etc. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, a trillion…

From left to right : a neutron strikes a uranium nucleus, and it breaks apart into a Krypton and Barium isotope and release three neutrons, which strike three uranium nucleuses, causing three fission events and releasing nine neutrons in total, etc | Ukraine Gave up Thousands Nuclear Warheads
Illustration of nuclear chain reaction. Uranium-235 fission. Unfortunately, the picture has an error in it. It is 92 protons not 95 in a U-235 isotope. – Shutterstock asset id: 73714504 by Mpanchenko.

By putting together enough U-235 you can make it so that one fission event will result in more than one additional fission event. This is called the critical mass. The critical mass for U-235 is 47 kilograms (104 pounds). Theoretically, you can achieve this by taking a 24-kilogram half sphere of U-235 in your right hand and a 24-kilogram half sphere of U-235 in your left hand and bring them together. You will achieve a limited chain reaction for a nano second, but you will just blow the two halves apart and kill yourself, but your city will survive. This is called a fizzle. To make most of the 48-kilogram mass undergo fission you have to force them together long enough for the chain reaction to complete (or almost complete). This requires force and precise calculations. See the illustration below.

A piece of arrow shaped uranium-235 is shot from the left to the right to collide with a larger half-sphere-shaped uranium-235 core thus achieving critical mass forcefully and quickly | Ukraine Gave up Thousands Nuclear Warheads
Components Inside of Uranium Nuclear Fission Bomb illustration – Shutterstock asset id: 2271462995 by BlueRingMedia.

Another difficulty is obtaining nearly 100% U-235 from natural uranium. 99% of the Uranium you find in nature is U-238. U-235 and U-238 chemically identical so extracting U-235 from natural uranium is difficult. However, U-235 is slightly lighter than U-238 so you can use centrifugal separation as you do to separate cream from milk. What is typically done is using a uranium compound, uranium hexafluoride, heat it into gaseous form and then utilize centrifugal separation to extract the uranium hexafluoride with U-235 isotopes. After that you can chemically extract the uranium, which is now U-235.

To see the other Super Facts click here

There are many environmental success stories

Super fact 46 : There are many serious threats to the environment that we need to take seriously. However, there are also many environmental success stories that we tend to forget about.

It is important to remember the environmental success stories because if we forget about them, it breeds despair, which in turn discourages people from acting and doing the right thing. Denial and Despair are two seemingly opposite emotional reactions that both hinder action on problems. I consider the existence of the many important environmental success stories a super fact because even though it is undeniably true that there are many environmental success stories, some truly amazing, it comes as a surprise to many.

Below I am listing six environmental success stories that I previously chose to be super facts. Super facts are important and true facts that are surprising and perhaps even shocking to many, or widely misunderstood, or disputed amongst the public, but not seriously disputed amongst the experts/scientists. Super facts are facts that are very special and that I think we should be aware of these facts. I should add that this is just a sample of environmental success stories. There are many more.

Super Fact 29:

EV Cars Indeed Emit Less Carbon Pollution

EV Cars emit less pollution than Internal Combustion Engine Cars, even considering manufacturing, disposal and many EV Cars being charged by dirty grids. The basic reason for this is the much higher efficiency of EV cars. EV cars emit significantly less greenhouse gases than internal combustion engines even considering construction of fuel production facilities, production of the car, the battery, and the fuel, vehicle operation and disposal. For more information click here.

The histogram graph shows that if you consider construction of facilities, manufacturing of vehicle and battery, production of fuel, vehicle operation as well as disposal the total average greenhouse gas emissions from EV cars is 52% less | There are many environmental success stories
Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions comparison of average gasoline car and average EV. This graph is taken from the US Department of Energy.

Super Fact 35:

Natural Disasters Kill Less People Now Than 100 Years Ago

Natural disasters kill a lot less people now compared to 100 years ago. That is despite a larger population and despite the fact that climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of many types of natural disasters. Surveys by Gap Minder show that this fact is quite surprising to people and therefore it is a super fact. To read more about this super fact click here.

The reason for the fewer deaths from natural disasters is not that there are fewer natural disasters. It is because we are now much better at predicting, handling and recovering from natural disasters. Our warnings systems, rescue systems and healthcare have improved significantly. The graph below from Gap Minder illustrates the decline in deaths from natural disasters.

The graph shows 300 to 400 thousand annual deaths at the beginning of the 20th century, then 971 thousand annual deaths in the 1930’s, then it continuously gets lower until the annual deaths in the 2010 to 2016 period is 72 thousand deaths per year.
This graph from the Gap Minder article shows the annual deaths from natural disasters.

Super Fact 41:

Emissions of ozone-depleting gases have fallen by 99 Percent

Largely thanks to the Montreal Protocol in 1987 the emissions of ozone-depleting gases have fallen by more than 99%, 99.7% to be exact, according to Our World in Data. This has resulted in the halt of the expansion of the ozone holes. The reduction in emissions of  ozone-depleting gases is saving millions of lives every year. To read more about this astounding success click here.

The NIH estimate that the Montreal Protocol has prevented 443 million cases of skin cancer worldwide, 2.3 million skin cancer deaths, and 63 million cases of cataracts in the United States alone. Globally, it is estimated that the Protocol has saved an estimated 2 million people from dying from skin cancer each year. The graph below is taken from Our World in Data.

Gases visualized in the diagram are CFCs, Halons, HCFCs, Carbon Tetrachloride, Methyl Bromide, Methyl Chloroform. The diagram shows a peak around the end of 1980’s | There are many environmental success stories
The phase out of six ozone depleting gases. Data source UN Environment Program (2023).

Super Fact 42:

Developed nations have successfully reduced carbon emissions

The developed nations (rich countries) have reduced their carbon emissions since the 1990’s despite continued GDP growth, even if we take offshore production into account. In addition, many developing countries have succeeded in reducing their emissions as well. Other fast-growing developing countries have flattened or at least slowed their increase in carbon emissions. Many countries have decoupled economic growth from CO2 emissions.

In other words, we do not need to increase carbon emissions or burn more fossil fuels to grow the economy. To read more about this promising development click here.

The graph shows three plotted graphs, a dark blue one showing GDP per capita, a light blue one showing UK carbon emissions per capita and a red one showing trade adjusted carbon emissions per capita. The GDP graph is increasing by more than 50% over 33 years and the CO2 emissions per capita graph is decreasing by almost 60% and the trade adjusted carbon emissions decline by almost 40%.
Data source: Data compiled from multiple sources by World Bank (2025); Global Carbon Budget (2024); Population based on various sources (2024). Note: GDP per capita is expressed in international dollars at 2021 prices. Graph taken from Our World in Data.

Super Fact 44:

Sulfur dioxide pollution has fallen by 95 percent in the US

Sulfur dioxide pollution has fallen by approximately 95 percent in the US since the 1970s. This significant reduction is primarily due to regulations like the Clean Air Act. Global sulfur dioxide pollution has also fallen but not as much. To read more about this success story click here. If you visit the aforementioned link you will also see that there are many other pollutants that we have successfully curtailed.

The graph shows a steep increase towards the end of the 19th century with a peak in 1973, followed by a steep decline |There are many environmental success stories
US sulfur dioxide pollution since 1800. US Emissions peaked in 1973. Data Source: Hoesly et al (2024) – Community Emissions Data System (CEDS). This graph is taken from this page in Our World In Data.

Super Fact 45:

Deforestation has peaked

Deforestation peaked back in the 1980s, meaning that is when it was worst. Deforestation has not stopped but the rate of deforestation has slowed as a result of government policies, corporate initiatives, and international agreements.

Overall, we are still losing forests. We had a 47-million-hectare loss of forest in the last decade, which is very bad, but that is better than the 151-million-hectare loss of forest in the 1980s. For temperate forests we have succeeded in reversing deforestation, which means that temperate forests are now gaining forest. To read more about this topic and how government policies, corporate initiatives, and international agreements have slowed the rate of deforestation you can click here. This change in deforestation rate is illustrated by the graph below, which is taken from Our World in Data.

The graphs show that during the 1700’s and the first half of the 1800’s the loss of forests was 19 million acres per decade. From the mid-1800’s to 1920 it was roughly 30 million acres per decade and from the 1920 and on it was 115 million acres per decade until the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s when it was 151 million acres per decade. Since then, it has fallen and in the last decade forest loss was 47 million acres | There are many environmental success stories
Decadal losses in global forest over the last three centuries. Decadal forest loss is measured as the average net loss every ten years, in hectares. This deforestation minus increases in forest area through afforestation. There is no single dataset that applies consistent or transparent methodology for deforestation over centuries. Two different datasets are therefore shown: these still shown the overall development and transition of forestation from temperate to tropical areas, but magnitudes should not be combined at the crossover point. Data sources: Pre-1995 data from Williams (2006). The second series is based on data from UN FAO Global Forest Resources.

Note : I am going on a trip with family and will return next Tuesday (5/27). During this time will not do any blogging. I love comments but I will respond to comments when I come back.

To see the other Super Facts click here

Deforestation peaked back in the 1980s

Super fact 45 : Deforestation peaked back in the 1980s, meaning that is when it was worst. Deforestation has not stopped but the rate of deforestation has slowed as a result of government policies, corporate initiatives, and international agreements.

The rate of global deforestation has slowed significantly since the 1980s. Overall we are still losing forests. We had a 47-million-hectare loss of forest in the last decade, which is very bad, but that is better than the 151-million-hectare loss of forest in the 1980s. For temperate forests we have succeeded in reversing deforestation and temperate forests are now gaining forest. To read more about how government policies, corporate initiatives, and international agreements have slowed the rate of deforestation you can click here, or here, or here.

Aerial photo of a forest. The upper left side shows lot of green trees whilst the lower right side is brown
Amazon rainforest illegal deforestation landscape. Aerial view of trees cut and burned to make land for agriculture and cattle pasture in Amazonas, Brazil. Asset id: 2471967219 by PARALAXIS

This is a super fact because we get a lot of bad news about deforestation, and we should, it is still a big problem. However, we are making progress and because of our negativity bias as well as that of the media, we tend to miss the story about the progress. Therefore, the fact that we are making progress comes as a surprise to many people.

The graphs show that during the 1700’s and the first half of the 1800’s the loss of forests was 19 million acres per decade. From the mid-1800’s to 1920 it was roughly 30 million acres per decade and from the 1920 and on it was 115 million acres per decade until the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s when it was 151 million acres per decade. Since then, it has fallen and in the last decade forest loss was 47 million acres | Proof that deforestation peaked back in the 1980s
Decadal losses in global forest over the last three centuries. Decadal forest loss is measured as the average net loss every ten years, in hectares. This deforestation minus increases in forest area through afforestation. There is no single dataset that applies consistent or transparent methodology for deforestation over centuries. Two different datasets are therefore shown: these still shown the overall development and transition of forestation from temperate to tropical areas, but magnitudes should not be combined at the crossover point. Data sources: Pre-1995 data from Williams (2006). The second series is based on data from UN FAO Global Forest Resources Assessments. The graph comes from Our World in Data – Research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems.

Peak Agricultural Land

There is one aspect to this story which both explains part of the reduction in deforestation but also provides additional hope for the future and that is that even though the world produces more food than ever, the amount of land we use for doing that is falling. Global land use for agriculture has peaked and is now falling. There has been a global decoupling of agricultural land and food production. I should explain that agricultural land is the total amount of arable land that is used to grow crops, and pasture used to raise livestock. That global land use for agriculture has peaked is illustrated in the graph below.

The graph shows a green line chart representing global agricultural land use and an orange line chart representing global agricultural production. The orange line graph keeps rising but the green line chart peaks and then starts going down | Evidence that deforestation peaked back in the 1980s
Global decoupling of agricultural land and food production. Agricultural land is the sum of cropland and pasture for grazing livestock. Production is measured in constant 2015 international dollars, which adjusts for inflation. Includes all crops and livestock. Data source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Our World in Data – Research and data to make progress against the World’s largest problems.

There are more trees now than 35 years ago (there’s a catch)

Another related good news story is that there are more trees in the world today than there were 35 years ago. A lot of the losses of forest in tropical areas have been compensated for by gains in Europe, North America and Asia. For example, tree planting programs in places like China have added a lot of trees as well as forests. In addition to tree planting programs climate change resulting in northern latitudes warming has resulted in temperate forests expanding.

However, this story is not as good as it sounds. There is a huge catch and that is that there is an important distinction between tree cover and forest cover. Tree cover refers to the total area covered by trees, while forest cover specifically refers to areas where trees form a forest ecosystem. Tree cover has increased but as you can guess from the graph above depicting global deforestation, the forest cover continues to decrease.

In addition, a lot of trees were planted for industrial timber plantations, mature oil palm estates and other specifically planted forests. These add to the global tree cover but not necessarily to biodiversity. Not all tree planting is equal.

So even though having more trees compared to 35 years ago is a good thing, it may not be as great as it sounds and does not contradict the fact that deforestation continues. This is important to point out because there are those who attempt to use the fact that we now have more trees to make the case that the talk about deforestation is a hoax. Don’t fall for that.

Summary

The good news is that even though deforestation is still happening the rate of it has slowed down. It peaked in the 1980s. This slowdown is largely due to government policies, corporate initiatives, and international agreements. An additional circumstance that aids in slowing deforestation is that the amount of land we use for agriculture is falling and we have passed peak land use for agriculture. Another positive situation is that we now have more trees than 35 years ago.

However, it is important to point out that does not mean that deforestation has been reversed. Tree cover and forest cover are not the same thing. The benefit of this is limited even though it is still a good thing to have more trees.

Environmental Success Stories

Aside from the success in reducing the rate of deforestation there is additional surprising, as well as good news regarding the environment.

To see the other Super Facts click here

Sulfur dioxide pollution has fallen by 95 percent in the US

Super fact 44 : Sulfur dioxide pollution has fallen by approximately 95 percent in the US since the 1970s. This significant reduction is primarily due to regulations like the Clean Air Act. Global sulfur dioxide pollution has also fallen but not as much.

Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas with the formula SO2. It has a pungent smell, which you notice after using matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activity and is produced as a by-product of burning sulfur-bearing fossil fuels and from metals refining. Sulfur dioxide is somewhat toxic to humans and by reacting with water it creates acid rain, which is a serious environmental problem.

The good news is that the Clean Air Act has driven technological advancements and the adoption of cleaner practices in industries that produce sulfur dioxide emissions. This has resulted in a drop of sulfur dioxide pollution in the US by 95% according to EPA and Statista and 94% according to Our World In Data. Statista is a pay site, so I am not going to link to it. Below is a graph from Our World In Data showing the reduction in sulfur dioxide pollution in the US.

The graph shows a steep increase towards the end of the 19th century with a peak in 1973, followed by a steep decline | Sulfur dioxide pollution has fallen by 95 percent in the US
US sulfur dioxide pollution since 1800. Data Source: Hoesly et al (2024) – Community Emissions Data System (CEDS). This graph is taken this page in Our World In Data.<<Link-5>> US Emissions peaked in 1973.

I should mention that by clicking this link you can visit the graph above Our World in Data and select different countries and regions and play around with the settings.

Sulfur Dioxide Emissions Worldwide

The worldwide emissions peaked in 1979 and fell sharply after that even though the progress (reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions) has not been as spectacular as in the US. Worldwide reductions are around 48%. Again, by visiting the Our World In Data page you can play around with the graph and the settings and view different countries and regions. This is an additional source visualizing the data.

The graph shows a steep increase in sulfur dioxide emissions around 1950 with a peak in 1979, followed by a steep decline, but not as dramatic as for the US
Sulfur dioxide pollution worldwide since 1800. Data Source: Hoesly et al (2024) – Community Emissions Data System (CEDS). This graph is taken this page in Our World In Data. Worldwide Emissions peaked in 1979.
This graph shows the sulfur dioxide emissions for the world as well as for China and India. China follows the world wide emissions but on a smaller scale whilst India has steady increase in emissions that stabilized/peaked in 2023 | Sulfur dioxide pollution has fallen by 95 percent in the US
Sulfur dioxide pollution worldwide since 1800 with three major polluters included. The United States is in red, China in green and India in blue. The graph for India is the one corresponding to the least overall pollution but it has no reduction. Data Source: Hoesly et al (2024) – Community Emissions Data System (CEDS). This graph is taken this page in Our World In Data.

Good News with Respect to Pollution

Sulfur dioxide emissions have gone down worldwide, which is good news. However, sulfur dioxide is not the only pollutant that we have succeeded in reducing. The graph below demonstrates that the US has also made great progress in reducing Nitrogen Oxides pollution, Carbon Monoxide, Black Carbon, and Non-methane volatile organic compounds. We have not been as successful with reducing Ammonia pollution.

However, according to Google AI sulfur dioxide, followed by Nitrogen Oxides pollution, Carbon Monoxide, and Black Carbon are the most serious pollutants. The graph below is taken from this page in Our World in Data.

The graphs for nitrogen oxide emissions, sulfur dioxide emissions , carbon monoxide and non-methane organic compounds pollution peak around 1970’s and then show a sharp downturn. The graph for black carbon peak around 1920 and then show a sharp downturn whereas the graph for ammonia does not peak. All graphs are in red.
US nitrogen oxide emissions, sulfur dioxide emissions, carbon monoxides, black carbon, ammonia and non-methane organic compounds pollution since 1750. Data Source: Hoesly et al (2024) – Community Emissions Data System (CEDS). This graph is taken from this page in Our World In Data.

The graphs for the world do not look as impressive. However, even in this case it looks like some progress has been made. Four graphs have peaked and are turning downwards, and one graph has flattened but unfortunately the graph for ammonia pollution is still heading upwards.

It should be noted that these pollutants are more or less local in the sense that they affect the polluting country and/or surrounding countries the most, whilst the climate change / global warming effect from carbon dioxide and other long lasting greenhouse gases tend to affect the entire planet.

The graphs for nitrogen oxide emissions, sulfur dioxide emissions , carbon monoxide peak around 1970’s and then show a small downturn. The graph for black carbon peak around 2020 and then shows a small downturn. The graph for non-methane organic compounds pollution flattened around 2020 whereas the graph for ammonia keeps growing. All graphs are in blue | Sulfur dioxide pollution has fallen by 95 percent in the US
Worldwide nitrogen oxides emissions, sulfur dioxide emissions, carbon monoxide emissions, black carbon, ammonia and non-methane organic compounds pollution since 1750. Data Source: Hoesly et al (2024) – Community Emissions Data System (CEDS). This graph is taken from this page in Our World In Data.

Aside from the success in reducing these pollutants there is more good news.

To see the other Super Facts click here

The US is the largest cumulative emitter of carbon

Super fact 43 : The United States has emitted more CO2 than any other country to date, around 400 billion tons since 1751. It is responsible for 25% of historical emissions. Click here.

But what about China? That is 12.7%, or around half. This is surprising information to many Americans, yet it is true, and therefore a super fact. In the US it is very common to blame China for our carbon emissions. In China they blame the US. In Europe they blame the US and China. Who is right? It turns out that the blame game is complicated and futile.

Carbon Emissions Around the World

Who should we blame the most for our carbon emissions?

In other words, if you want to blame another country for the carbon emissions, take your pick, well your cherry pick. Why should we do something about our carbon emissions when X is worse? Those who want no action on the global warming / climate change problem love the blame game. Like denial or despair, which are both irrational positions, the blame game hinders action. The blame game can also get very complicated and contentious.

The nine graphs are complex but show that among the nine countries/regions the United States currently has the highest emissions, followed by Canada, and the China, then South Africa, then the European Union, then comes the United Kingdom, and the World, and finally India and Kenya | The US is the largest cumulative emitter of carbon
The graph shows the fossil fuel emissions (in carbon dioxide equivalents) per capita from 1750 to 2023 for the World, the United States, Canada, China, European Union, India, South Africa, United Kingdom, and Kenya. Notice that the United Kingdom dominated the emissions in the 1700’s and 1800’s. Data source: Global Carbon Budget (2024); Population based on various sources (2024). The graph is from Our World in Data .

Note regarding the graph above: By clicking here you can find this graph and then select to display any set of countries or regions. Have fun experimenting.

Note regarding Fossil emissions: Fossil emissions measure the quantity of carbon emissions (CO2) emitted from the burning of fossil fuels, and directly from industrial processes such as cement and steel production. Fossil CO2 includes emissions from coal, oil, gas, flaring, cement, steel, and other industrial processes. Fossil emissions do not include land use change, deforestation, soils, or vegetation.

Overview of Cumulative Carbon Emissions

As you can see in the graph below the cumulative carbon emissions from 1751 to 2017 are 25% for the United States, 22% for the EU (28 countries), 12.7% for China, 6% for Russia, 4% for Japan, and 3% for India. If you count the entire continent of Europe, you get 33% for Europe.

The graph shows differently colored rectangles with the area of the rectangle corresponding to the cumulative carbon emissions. Each rectangle corresponds to a country or a region.
Figures for the 28 countries in the European Union have been grouped as the EU-28 since international targets and negotiations are typically set as a collaborative target between EU countries. Values may not sum up to 100% due to rounding. Data Source: Calculated by Our World in Data from the Global Carbon Project (GCP) and Carbon Dioxide Analysis Center (CDIAC). This is a visualization from Our World in Data, where you can find data and research on how the world is changing.
To see the other Super Facts click here