CO2 emissions in Africa 2021, by country

South Africa was the most polluting country in Africa in 2021. That year, it emitted nearly 436 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Egypt ranked second with around 250 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, followed by Algeria, Nigeria, and Libya. Additionally, South Africa and Libya had the highest CO2 emissions per capita among the African countries. Africa’s low contribution to global emissions Africa’s cumulative CO2 emissions amounted to around 48 billion metric tons in the period between 1884 and 2020. On the other hand, from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750 to 2020, the world emitted approximately 1.7 trillion metric tons of CO2. Africa’s contribution to the global carbon footprint has been relatively limited, as the continent accounted for less than three percent of the world’s cumulative CO2 emissions as of 2020. In contrast, the United States, Europe, and China have been the largest emitters worldwide. Impact of climate change on Africa Global warming has risen significantly with the increment of CO2 emissions since the Industrial era. In 2020, the world’s land and ocean surface temperature was approximately 0.98 degrees Celsius warmer than in the 20th Century. Africa also experienced significant temperature anomalies, especially in the last decade. Despite its low contribution to global emissions, the African continent is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In 2019, Chad, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were the countries with the highest vulnerability to and lowest readiness for the climate change impact in the world, according to the ND-GAIN Country Index.

2021年，南非成为非洲最污染严重的国家。当年，其二氧化碳（CO2）排放量接近4.36亿吨。埃及排名第二，约为2.5亿吨CO2排放，其后依次为阿尔及利亚、尼日利亚和利比亚。此外，南非和利比亚在非洲国家中人均CO2排放量最高。非洲在全球碳排放中所占比例微乎其微，其在1884年至2020年间的累计CO2排放量约为480亿吨。相比之下，自1750年工业革命初期至2020年，全球CO2排放量约为17万亿吨。尽管非洲对全球碳排放的贡献相对有限，截至2020年，非洲大陆所占比重不足全球累计CO2排放量的百分之三，但美国、欧洲和中国一直是全球最大的排放国。全球变暖随着工业时代以来CO2排放量的增加而显著加剧。2020年，全球陆地和海洋表面温度比20世纪高出约0.98摄氏度。非洲也经历了显著的温度异常，尤其是在过去十年中。尽管其对全球排放的贡献微不足道，但非洲大陆对气候变化的影响极为脆弱。根据ND-GAIN国家指数，2019年乍得、中非共和国、厄立特里亚、几内亚比绍和刚果民主共和国是世界上对气候变化影响最为脆弱且应对准备最不足的国家。