By Paul Choi, Miguel Garrido, Autumn Jing, and Tony Zeng
Most geographic comparisons of carbon dioxide emissions are based on the countries and regions where the pollution occurs. Hence, an integral part of the current debate about the blame and responsibility for climate change focuses on the emission rates of different sovereign states and geopolitical entities. The U.S. and the European Union, for example, have placed more blame on China in recent years since its emissions have increased steadily (China is now the world’s biggest carbon dioxide emitter).
However, an alternative way to compare emissions is by attributing emissions to the countries where the polluting companies are headquartered. Since companies (not governments or individuals) account for a majority of carbon emissions around the world, it is useful to compare emissions based on where the world’s biggest polluting countries are headquartered. This view reveals “hidden emissions” based on a different geographic lens.
To compare these two pictures of carbon dioxide emissions, we created the sketch below to tell a story. The bottom half of the sketch shows the reported emissions based on the geography of pollution activity. This is the most common measure cited in news stories and reports, and shows that China accounted for 27% of the world’s CO2 emissions in 2010, compared to 16% for the U.S. and 12% for China.
The top half of the sketch, however, reveals the alternative picture based on the geographies of the polluting companies’ headquarters. The data here show that in contrast to the bottom picture, Europe and the U.S. account for a larger share of the world’s CO2 emissions (20% and 19%, respectively) relative to China (15%).
We believe this sketch tells a compelling story because it contrasts two views of the same dynamic (carbon emissions) and illustrates that there is more than one way to analyze a given problem. We believe the sketch is appropriate because it uses the analogy of a smokestack to show the viewer the relative proportions of carbon emissions. It is also effective because it guides the viewer with an annotated narrative and filters the information down to the most essential bits (six data points in total). We believe infographics like this one can provide powerful evidence-based stories to inform people and make meaningful contributions to public debates.
Source: https://link.springer.com/journal/10584