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Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Data, Graphs, and Maps

Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences, Geography, Mathematics

This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Our World in Data
Open Resource

What it is

  • This resource includes an interactive map, graph, and table that show the total greenhouse gas emission for countries throughout the world, starting from 1965.
  • Greenhouse gas emissions – from carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and F-gases – are summed up and measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents.

Teaching tips

Positives

  • The interactive provides three different ways for students to explore data (chart, map, table).
  • The data can be customized to view different countries and time periods.

Additional Prerequisites

  • Learners need to be familiar with the concept of gas emissions.
  • The dataset and images are available to download.

Differentiation

  • This resource can be used as a practical application of the uses of line graphs learned in Mathematics.
  • Students can easily compare emissions from their home country to other countries around the world.
  • In geography or social studies classes, students can explore characteristics of high-emission and low-emission countries and seek to identify trends.
  • Teachers can ask students to identify which countries they believe are most responsible for climate change based on the emissions data. This can open a conversation about justice and moral responsibility.

From the scientist review

This resource outlines total Global CO2 emissions aggregated from selected countries. Ideally, Global warming potentials calculated within a period of 100 years were taken into account to get the sum of CO2 equivalent expressed in tonnes. This resource is recommended for teaching.

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