Emission Impossible

Where produces the most CO2 emissions in the UK and around the world?

The world is changed. The air is thick with pollution, as the temperature of the earth heats up, threatening to wipe out all life and turn this oasis of blue and green into another barren rock. One hundred years ago, the annual CO2 emissions were 3.5 billion tons, whereas now there are almost 35 billion, but where in the world is producing the most emissions? By studying data across the globe and in the UK, the areas with the biggest carbon impact have been identified.

One way we can reduce our carbon footprint is to move away from petrol and diesel-powered cars and switch over to electric. More and more people are buying electric, looking into electric car finance options, and installing charging stations at home. In 2021 there were 16.5 million electric cars on the roads globally, triple the amount in 2018; many countries have targets to make all car sales electric in the near future, and the UK plans to end sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

Global CO2 Emissions

Global total
Per person

Best

Worst

1.
China

Total emissions:

11.5 billion tons of CO2

Percentage of total world emissions:

30.34%

China produces the most carbon emissions, with over 11 billion tons pumped into the atmosphere in the last year, China’s output is more than double that of any other country.

2.
United States

Total emissions:

5.1 billion tons of CO2

Percentage of total world emissions:

13.43%

The United States has the second highest emissions as just over 5 billion tons of CO2 were released from the States. This makes the United States one of only two countries to contribute more than 10% of the global emissions.

3.
India

Total emissions:

2.6 billion tons of CO2

Percentage of total world emissions:

6.83%

The country with the third highest carbon dioxide emissions was India. The Asian nation produced almost 7% of the world’s CO2 emissions, equating to over 2.5 billion tons.

1.
Palau

Total emissions:

1.3 million tons of CO2

Population

18,055

Average emissions per person:

73.66 tons of CO2

The small Pacific island nation of Palau is where the most CO2 is produced per head. The permanent population of the Archipelago is just over 18,000, in 2019 94,000 tourists visited the nation, which contributed to their carbon output.

2.
New Caledonia

Total emissions:

15.7 million tons of CO2

Population

289,950

Average emissions per person:

54.01 tons of CO2

New Caledonia produces more than 15 million more tons of CO2 than Palau, but it also has a much higher population. On average, there are almost 20 fewer tons produced per person in the French overseas territory.

3.
Qatar

Total emissions:

106.53 million tons of CO2

Population

2,695,122

Average emissions per person:

39.53 tons of CO2

Qatar is a small oil-rich nation in the Middle East, which produces the third highest levels of CO2 per person on average, with almost 40 tons per person being emitted.

UK CO2 Emissions

UK total
Per person

Best

(Region)

Worst

(Region)

Local authority rank

1.
Neath Port Talbot

Total emissions:

7.17 million tons of CO2

Percentage of total world emissions:

2.08%

The Welsh region of Neath Port Talbot is where the most CO2 is produced in the UK. manufacturing is a huge factor contributing to CO2 emissions, as the Port Talbot Steelworks is the largest steel production plant in the country.

2.
North Lincolnshire

Total emissions:

6.89 billion tons of CO2

Percentage of total world emissions:

2.00%

North Lincolnshire has the second largest CO2 emissions of any area in the UK, with the area producing just under 7 million tons. The major industry driving the economy in North Lincolnshire is manufacturing, as 23.6% of all jobs in the area are in that sector, a sector which produces a lot of carbon emissions.

3.
Birmingham

Total emissions:

4.08 billion tons of CO2

Percentage of total world emissions:

1.19%

The UK’s second-largest city of Birmingham ranks in third place when it comes to the UK areas producing the most carbon dioxide emissions, with over 4,000 kilotons emitted from the city. Birmingham has always been an industrial city, famous over the years for car making and being the home of British Leyland, despite the automotive industry largely leaving, Birmingham is still a heavily industrialised city.

1.
City of London

Total emissions:

0.64 million tons of CO2

Population

10,938

Average emissions per person:

58.55 tons of CO2

Fewer than 11,000 people live in the heart of the capital, but it produces a disproportionately high amount of CO2. Consequently, the average emissions per person are almost 59 tons.

2.
Neath Port Talbot

Total emissions:

7.17 million tons of CO2

Population

144,386

Average emissions per person:

49.63 tons of CO2

As well as being the largest total producer of CO2 emissions, the residents of Neath Port Talbot also produce one of the highest amounts per person on average, a shocking statistic for a small population.

3.
North Lincolnshire

Total emissions:

6.89 million tons of CO2

Population

172,748

Average emissions per person:

39.98 tons of CO2

Similarly to Neath Port Talbot, North Lincolnshire is also one of the biggest producing regions for CO2 emissions per person.

Electric vehicles in the UK

Growth of EVs

The number of battery-powered electric vehicles has increased dramatically in the UK since 2010. Back then, there were a little over 1,000 total electric vehicles registered. This was just 0.05% of the total vehicles registered.

This has increased so dramatically that by 2021 there were 193 times as many EVs registered as there were 11 years prior. Moreover, the 207,709 new EVs registered last year accounted for over 12% of the total new vehicle registrations in the UK.

Petrol stations vs EV chargers

As the number of electric vehicles on UK roads has increased, the demand for public charging stations has also increased. In the very recent past, you’d be hard-pressed to find an electric vehicle charging station near you. In a 2011 episode of the popular British motoring show Top Gear, the nearest public charging station to Lincoln city centre was 45 miles away. Whereas today, there are twenty car parks within the city of Lincoln which have public electric vehicle charging points available.

This trend continues throughout the country, as the number of EV charging stations is around ten times higher in 2021 than it was in 2015, increasing from just over 2,000 to just under 21,000. Meanwhile, the number of petrol stations has dwindled as the motor industry slowly turns its back on fossil fuels, there are over 100 fewer petrol stations in 2021 than there were in 2015, and almost 5,000 fewer than in the year 2,000.

Consequently, there are now more public EV chargers in the UK than there are petrol stations. After overtaking petrol stations in 2019, there are now over 12,000 more EV chargers in the country.

Top selling EVs

@tesla
1
Tesla Model 3

The Tesla Model 3 is by far the best-selling electric car on sale in the UK. There were almost 35,000 new Model 3s registered in 2021, this was more than 20,000 more than the next most popular EV. In addition, the number of Model 3s registered is almost half of the total number of registrations from the next nine best-selling EVs.

34,783

New vehicles registered in 2021

@kiauk
2
Kia e-Niro

The Kia e-Niro is an electric version of the Korean company's popular Niro SUV. Despite having much lower new cars sold than Tesla, it was still the second most popular EV in the UK in 2021.

12,271

New vehicles registered in 2021

@vw
3
VW ID.3

The VW ID.3 is the last electric vehicle model to have had over 10,000 new cars registered in the UK in 2021. The ID 3 is a much smaller car than the two above it making it the best-selling electric hatchback in the UK.

11,032

New vehicles registered in 2021
1. Tesla Model 3 34,783
2. Kia e-Niro 12,271
3. VW ID.3 11,032
4. Nissan Leaf 9,062
5. Audi E-tron 7,396
6. Audi E-tron 7,396
7. Hyundai Kona Electric 7,199
8. Mini Electric 6,615
9. Renault Zoe 5,778
10. Vauxhall Corsa-e 5,605

Greenest vs Meanest Cars

To determine the greenest and meanest cars we looked at the green score given to thousands of cars in production by greencar.org. The score is out of 100, and it is determined by analysing test results on emissions and fuel economy, as well as estimates of pollution generated.

@toyota
1
Toyota Prius Prime

The Toyota Prius Prime is a plug-in hybrid version of the Prius, one of the most famous hybrid cars of the 21st century. Once the darling of Hollywood for its energy-efficient nature, the Prius was the eco-car of choice for the celebrity elite.

69/100

Green score

@bugatti
1
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport

At the other end of the spectrum is the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, with the monstrous supercar becoming one of the fastest road cars in the world. Electronically limited to 273mph, an unlimited version of the super sport cracked 300mph, and it is one of the last great hurrahs of the petrol-powered vehicles that have dominated the world of performance motoring for a century. All that being said, it is incredibly damaging to the environment, scoring the lowest green score of any car studied.

17/100

Green score

Greenest
1. Toyota Prius Prime 69
2. Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid 68
3. Mini Cooper Se Hardtop 2 Door 67
4. Nissan Leaf 67
5. Hyundai Ioniq Blue 66
Meanest
1. Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport 17
1. Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 17
3. Bugatti Chiron 21
4. RAM 1500 Trx 4x4 22
4. Lamborghini Aventador Coupe 22

Methodology

  • Global emission stats per country were sourced from the World Population Review.

  • UK emissions per region were sourced from the NationalAtmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI).

  • The number of new EVs registered per year in the UK was sourced from GOV.UK.

  • The total number of vehicles registered in the UK was sourced from Statista.

  • The number of UK petrol stations per year was sourced from Statista.

  • The number of EV charging points in the Uk was sourced from GOV.UK.

  • The best-selling EVs in the UK in 2021 were sourced from Admiral.

  • The ‘greenest and meanest’ cars in the world were identified using the environmental score out of 100 on greenercars.org.

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