Countries' contributions to climate change: effect of accounting for all

The analysis demonstrates that countries' relative contributions to global emissions vary significantly depending on the calculation method used. For example, the relative contribution of developed countries as a group ranges from 80% when excluding recent emissions and non-CO2 GHGs to 48% when including all emissions and discounting for technological progress. The study finds that excluding non-CO2 GHGs and land-use change and forestry CO2 can alter relative contributions by factors of 0.15 to 1.5. Furthermore, discounting for technological progress reduces the relative contributions of some developed countries (factor of 0.8) while increasing those of some developing countries (factor of 1.2–1.5). Deducting 'basic needs' emissions lowers contributions for countries with low per capita emissions (factor of 0.3–0.5), and including projected emissions up to 2020 increases the relative contributions of emerging economies by a factor of 1.2 to 1.5.

• The relative contribution of developed countries to cumulative global emissions varies from 80% to 48% depending on whether recent emissions, non-CO2 GHGs, land-use change, and forestry CO2 are excluded or included and discounted for technological progress.
• Excluding non-CO2 GHGs and land-use change and forestry CO2 significantly impacts relative historical contributions, with multiplicative factors ranging from 0.15 to 1.5 compared to reference calculations covering 1850-2010.
• Different accounting adjustments shift the burden of contribution: excluding 2000–2010 emissions reduces contributions for most emerging economies (up to 0.8 factor), while discounting for technological progress reduces some developed countries' contributions (0.8 factor) and increases some developing countries' contributions (1.2–1.5 factor).
• Deducting emissions for 'basic needs' reduces the contributions of countries with low per capita emissions by a factor of 0.3–0.5, and including projected emissions up to 2020 increases the relative contributions of emerging economies by a factor of 1.2 to 1.5.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2013). Countries' contributions to climate change: effect of accounting for all. https://newclimate.org/resources/publications/countries-contributions-to-climate-change-effect-of-accounting-for-all

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. Countries' contributions to climate change: effect of accounting for all. 2013. https://newclimate.org/resources/publications/countries-contributions-to-climate-change-effect-of-accounting-for-all.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=Countries' contributions to climate change: effect of accounting for all |date=1 September 2013 |url=https://newclimate.org/resources/publications/countries-contributions-to-climate-change-effect-of-accounting-for-all |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2013countries, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{Countries' contributions to climate change: effect of accounting for all}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2013}, month = sep, url = {https://newclimate.org/resources/publications/countries-contributions-to-climate-change-effect-of-accounting-for-all}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }