In the new chart, we used 2007 data from the International Energy Agency from their 2009 edition of CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion: Highlights. Each country or region is represented by a rectangle. The height of the rectangle corresponds to the per capita emissions, and the width corresponds to the population size. Therefore, the total area of all rectangles adds up to the total worldwide CO2 emissions.

It becomes immediately clear how difficult any limitation or decrease of CO2 will be. Countries like the U.S. have a multiple of CO2 emissions per capita compared to India, China, or Africa; it is in the U.S. then where the most potential for savings from the current levels lies. However, most of the growth is expected in China and India, and we can see that there is just no way these countries could ever grow into the levels of European or U.S. CO2 emissions per capita. The Earth would not sustain it.

Download the PDF file here or get it on Slideshare:
Worldwide CO2 Emissions (2007) v091116