Fact: CO2 Drives Climate Change

The COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland is in session. Since Sunday.

One subject that is bound to be hotly debated is carbon dioxide emissions. 

And I wasn't aware that Malaysia's CO2 emissions are pretty high! Malaysiakini had reported yesterday that at 7.2 tonnes per person, Malaysia's carbon emission per capita is greater than China(!) but thankfully, a lot less than the United States. 

In fact, the carbon emission per capita for China is 7 tonnes, while the United States emits 15 tonnes per capita. 

I decided to find out more and so, I'm sharing what I found out here. 

Malaysia’s carbon dioxide emissions per capita for the 1960-2018 period, according to theglobaleconomy.com showed an average value of 3.67 metric tonnes with a minimum of 0.44 metric tonnes in 1960 and a maximum of 7.76 metric tonnes in 2014. 

The latest value from 2018 is 7.6 metric tonnes. For comparison, the world average based on 186 countries is 4.24 metric tonnes. 

Compare this to China with 7.4 metric tonnes and the US with 15.2 metric tonnes (World Bank). 

And from knoema.com, CO2 emissions per capita for Malaysia in 2020 was 7.98 tonnes of CO2 per capita. 

If you must know, in 2020, Palau was the #1 country for CO2 emissions per capita at 55.29 tonnes of CO2 per capita. The other countries to make the Top 5 were Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

Per-capita emissions are highest for oil-producing countries and some island nations, reflecting the huge energy costs the oil business has on the global environment – even before those fossil fuels are burned. 

CO2 emissions per capita in selected countries and regions, 2000-2020 (last updated Oct 28, 2021: 

Source: International Energy Agency

FYI, carbon dioxide is a key greenhouse gas that drives global climate change. 

Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are at the highest levels ever recorded. Greenhouse gas levels are so high primarily because humans have released them into the air by burning fossil fuels. The gases absorb solar energy and keep heat close to Earth's surface, rather than letting it escape into space. That trapping of heat is known as the greenhouse effect. 

Today, climate change is the term scientists use to describe the complex shifts, driven by greenhouse gas concentrations, that are now affecting our planet’s weather and climate systems. Climate change encompasses not only the rising average temperatures we refer to as global warming but also extreme weather events, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, rising seas, and a range of other devastating impacts.

There is widespread belief that world leaders at COP26 will likely have their last chance to curtail the deadliest consequences of human-induced planetary warming. 

Time is of the essence for unified global action as studies suggest as little as 9 years remain before the most catastrophic effects of climate change take hold and are impossible to stop. 

But I'm not putting much hope in COP26 anyway.