Global Emissions & Impacts
Since 1751, the world has emitted over 1.5 trillion tons of carbon dioxide. The United States has emitted more CO2 than any other country to date and is responsible for almost one quarter of historical emissions.
The graph above shows the 20 largest global contributors to cumulative CO2 emissions from 1850-2021. Why is this significant?
Many of these top-emitting countries are also amongst the wealthiest in world. While the entire world is starting to face the impacts of climate change through extreme heat events, sea level rise, flooding, intense storms, and more, wealthier countries have more funding and resources available to adapt compared to developing countries, who produce much smaller amounts of greenhouse gases. Many developing countries cannot afford or do not have access to the same resources we do, such as air conditioning in the case of extreme heat events, infrastructure to help prevent flooding, or disaster preparedness systems.
This means that poorer countries who contribute the least to climate change are also the most vulnerable to climate impacts because they cannot afford to implement strategies that increase resilience. Similarly, low-income neighborhoods, cities, and towns within the US bear the brunt of climate change. The types of people who are the most impacted by the effects of climate change are the ones who are contributing the least, such as children and lower-income individuals. In the 2025 Texas floods, at least 134 people died, including 37 children.
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 disproportionately affected low-income and minority communities, particularly New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward--communities that were more vulnerable due to their location in flood-prone areas, inadequate infrastructure, and systemic inequalities that made them more susceptible to the storm's impacts and less likely to receive adequate resources for recovery.
