Which Countries Have the Greatest Carbon Footprint?

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Which countries have the greatest carbon footprint? As of research conducted by Pitney Bowes, collecting the latest data from around the globe, the country with the greatest carbon footprint per capita — no surprise — is the United States, with 20.1 tons of CO2 per capita. But numbers two, three, and four may surprise you.

Per capita, they are . . .

  • Canada (18.4 tons)
  • Belgium (14.3 tons)
  • Finland (11.8 tons)

If you look at CO2 emissions by ratio to GDP, however, the numbers look quite different. Here’s how they stack up:

  • Bulgaria (3.35 kg CO2/$ GDP)
  • Russia (2.85 kg CO2/$ GDP)
  • China (2.4 kg CO2/$ GDP)
  • Canada (.59 kg CO2/$ GDP)

I guess it’s all in how you look at it. But one thing I take away from this list is that because the United States is number one in CO2 emissions per capita, that means that if each person were to make small, incremental changes, we can make a significant change in our global position on this issue.

For manufacturers and marketers, the call is even greater, because they are responsible for larger volumes of CO2-producing products. Any incremental changes in their design specs, their production processes, their corporate policies, is magnified across the volume of their production.

So make a small change. Maybe this time next year the United States will be number two or three on the list . . . instead of first. You could have a hand in it!

Like this post? See all my “Greening Print Marketing” posts.

Image courtesy of Pitney Bowes “The Environmental Impact of Direct Mail

3 thoughts on “Which Countries Have the Greatest Carbon Footprint?”

  1. It is time that the United States, which ranks number one on the list, make the greatest effort to reduce its carbon footprint. It is in no way a valid position to say, “we won’t unless everyone else does” – it’s time for us to be a leader in this area and demonstrate to the rest of the world that the planet’s most powerful nation is also the most conscious!

  2. It is time that the United States, which ranks number one on the list, make the greatest effort to reduce its carbon footprint. It is in no way a valid position to say, “we won’t unless everyone else does” – it’s time for us to be a leader in this area and demonstrate to the rest of the world that the planet’s most powerful nation is also the most conscious!

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