Greenhouse gases: India fourth biggest emitter, but lags far behind top three

NEW DELHI: As the global community gears up for the crucial Paris climate summit, the World Resources Institute(WRI) - a global research organization -has come out with its latest analyses of the country-wise emissions of climate - damaging greenhouse gases.

It shows India, despite being the fourth largest carbon emitter, continues to be far behind the other three top big emitters in terms of per capita emission.

Though the data, released by the WRI, cannot be used as an excuse by India for not acting against its emission, such figures will certainly give the country an upper hand while negotiating for a global climate deal. India invariably uses the 'per capita' yardstick while insisting on more comprehensive actions from rich nations.

However, developing countries like China, Mexico and Brazil too are way ahead of India in terms of their per capita contribution to the overall emissions. And, this is the reason why a section within the Indian government has time and again argued not to compare the country's action with that of the Chinese goal.



The WRI analysis is based on data from its Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) that has recently released its emission figures for the year 2012. It also came out with details as how the various economic sectors have contributed to the overall emission.

"Per capita emissions are still distributed unequally", it said, pointing out that the per person emissions still vary among the top 10 emitters, with the United States' per capita emissions eight times that of India.
According to the figures, the largest emitters contribute a majority of global emissions as the top 10 emitters contribute over 72 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions (excluding land use change and forestry). On the other hand, the lowest 100 emitters contribute less than 3 per cent.

"While universal climate action is necessary, significant mitigation actions are needed by the largest emitters, taking into account that they have different capacities to do so," said the WRI in its document.

It shows the energy sector is the dominant source of greenhouse gas emissions. It contributes more than 75 per cent of global emissions. "A rapid transformation of the energy sector by 2050, as the G7 (top rich countries) suggested in their announcement, is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change," it said.

The analysis also shows that emission sources vary by country. While the energy sector dominates, industrial emissions in China contribute more than 3 per cent of global emissions and new data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicate that agriculture contributes a notable share of Brazil's and Australia's emissions.
"Mitigation policy options that countries should therefore align with their national circumstances", the WRI suggested while sharing and analyzing those figures.

Six of the top 10 emitters are developing countries. China contributes approximately 25 per cent of global emissions, making it the top emitter.