Environmental Indicators

Four numbers that sketch a country's environmental footprint: carbon emitted per person, share of electricity from clean sources, forest cover, and where global temperatures are heading. Select a country to trace its trajectory across all four — then use the sidebar to compare multiple countries on any single theme.

Data is pulled at build time from Our World in Data's open datasets. Underlying sources include the Global Carbon Project, Ember, FAO, and NASA GISTEMP.

CO₂ emissions per capita

Tonnes of CO₂ emitted per person per year, from fossil fuels and industry. High numbers reflect energy-intensive economies and lifestyles — Gulf states and Australia typically lead; countries like India remain low despite large absolute totals. Most wealthy nations peaked in the 1970s–80s and have since declined.

Renewable share of electricity

Share of electricity generated from hydro, wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. A rising line means a country is decarbonising its power sector. The recent acceleration in most countries reflects falling costs for solar and wind — not just policy commitments.

Forest cover

Forest area as a percentage of total land. Declining lines typically correspond to agricultural expansion and logging. Coverage ranges from near-zero in arid and heavily urbanised nations to above 60% in parts of the tropics and Nordic countries.

Global temperature anomaly

Deviation from the 1961–1990 average, measured by NASA GISTEMP. This is the one global indicator — country selection has no effect. Every decade since the 1980s has been warmer than the one before it.

Data: Our World in Data (CC BY).