Enemies of Energy: American CO2 emissions

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from the “Myths and Misconceptions” section of Enemies of Energy, a research report created for the Capital Research Center. The page for the full report is here: Enemies of Energy.

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The anti-energy NGOs operate from the presumption that major reductions in American use of oil, natural gas, and coal will meaningfully reduce the world’s CO₂ emissions and thus reduce global warming. This assumption does not account for the unique size of the American economy nor our comparatively small contribution to total planetary carbon dioxide emissions.

Despite being the planet’s undisputed economic superpower, the United States produces a comparatively small share of CO₂ emissions relative to our massive economy; a little less than 13 percent of the total. Nearly 32 percent of world’s CO₂ comes from China. ^{[i] [ii]}

The trajectory of US and China CO₂ emissions also reinforces the relative insignificance of reducing American hydrocarbon use.

American CO₂ emissions in 2024 were 4.9 billion tonnes—identical to the USA carbon dioxide emissions from 1988. But Chinese CO₂ emissions in 2024 were 12.29 billion tonnes, five times more than China’s emissions in 1988, and obviously more than double the American emissions. ^[iii]

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A reasonable counterpoint is that China was still an immature economy in 1988, and by 2024 had grown to the world’s second largest.

Fair enough. By 2005 China was growing rapidly and this was the last year that its CO₂ emissions were lower than the USA. Since then, China has become (by far) the largest national emitter of carbon dioxide. Conveniently for this analysis, 2005 also marked the year American emissions peaked at an all-time high of 6.13 billion tonnes. From 2005 until 2024, USA carbon emissions fell by 20 percent while China’s increased by 109 percent. ^[iv]

Unlike China and other developing nations (such as India) the USA has mastered a growing and prosperous economy without increasing CO₂ emissions. This becomes even more clear when we look at American carbon dioxide emissions per person.

USA CO₂ emissions per capita in 2024 were less than in 1940—the year before the attack on Pearl Harbor and American entry into World War II. The dramatic decline began this century, starting in 2000. From there until 2024, USA CO₂ emissions per person plummeted by 33.6 percent.^[v]

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Full report hyperlinked below:

Endnotes

[i] “GDP (current US$)” World Bank. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD

[ii] Ritchie, Hannah; Pablo Rosado, and Max Roser. “Per capita, national, historical: how do countries compare on CO2 metrics?” Our World in Data. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-metrics

[iii] Ritchie, Hannah; Pablo Rosado, and Max Roser. “Per capita, national, historical: how do countries compare on CO2 metrics?” Our World in Data. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-metrics

[iv] Ritchie, Hannah; Pablo Rosado, and Max Roser. “Per capita, national, historical: how do countries compare on CO2 metrics?” Our World in Data. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-metrics

[v] “CO₂ emissions per capita.” Our World in Data. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/co-emissions-per-capita