Before the Paris Agreement

Climate Action and GHG emissions by Country Groups

Before the Paris Agreement, only industrialized countries were required to reduce GHG emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. Efforts by these countries, however, were offset by increasing emissions by most countries. As a result, global GHG emissions continued to increase.

Countries in the table below have been organized according the categorization used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report. The increase in the share of global GHG emissions is indicated by country group. Countries that took action to reduce GHG emissions in the commitment periods 2008-2012 and 2013-2020 are in color.

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, European Union (EU28), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Fiji, Gabon, Grenada, Hungary, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Macedonia (Republic of), Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Namibia, Palau, Panama, Peru, Romania, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Seychelles, South Africa, Suriname, Thailand, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Venezuela.

Armenia, Bhutan, Bolivia, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Congo (Republic of), Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Mauritania, Micronesia (Federated States of), Moldova (Republic of), Mongolia, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Ukraine, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic of the), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tanzania (United Republic of), The Gambia, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe.

References:

Countries committed to GHG emission reductions before the Paris Agreement:

Countries committed to reduce GHG emissions by the Kyoto Protocol in its first commitment period (CP1) –five percent GHG emission reduction from 1990 levels in 2008-2012– and second commitment period (CP2) –at least 18 percent GHG emission reduction from 1990 levels in 2013-2020.

Countries committed to reduce GHG emissions by the Kyoto Protocol in its first commitment period (CP1).

Countries committed to reduce GHG emissions by the Kyoto Protocol in its second commitment period (CP2).

Sources:

Countries in each group, based on the categorization used by the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5): https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg3/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf

IPCC, AR5, Working Group III (Chapter 1)

Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR). European Commission, Joint Research Centre/PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency