Per capita carbon dioxide emissions are not highest in countries with the highest total emissions Global per capita carbon dioxide emissions rose 16 percent between
Per capita carbon dioxide emissions (metric tons per capita)
1990 and 2010 to a record 4.9 metric tons. The countries with the
40
highest per capita emissions are not among the countries with the highest total emissions. In 2010 the top fi ve per capita emitters 30
were Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, Kuwait, Brunei Darussalam, and Aruba, all high-income countries, whereas the top fi ve total emitters were China, the United States, India, the Russian Federation, and
20
Japan. Europe and Central Asia had the highest per capita emissions among developing country regions (5.3 metric tons), followed by East 1990
per capita carbon dioxide emissions fall 2.5 percent between 1990 and 2010, to 11.6 metric tons, they remain the world’s highest per
2010
10
Asia and Pacifi c (4.9 metric tons). While high-income countries saw
0 Qatar
capita emitters.
Trinidad and Tobago
Kuwait
Brunei Darussalam
Aruba
World
Source: Online table 3.8.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s fast-growing urban population Home to more than half the world’s people, urban areas will accom-
Urban and rural population, 2012 (% of total population)
modate almost all population growth over the next four decades. The
100 Rural
pace will be fastest in developing countries, where the urban population is forecast to rise from 2.7 billion in 2012 to 5.2 billion in 2050. 75
At 4 percent a year between 1990 and 2012, Sub- Saharan Africa had the fastest pace of urban growth rate of all developing regions. Urbanization can yield important social benefits, such as improving
50
people’s access to public services. In Sub- Saharan Africa 83 percent of the urban population has access to an improved water source, com25 Urban
pared with 51 percent of the rural population. And access to improved sanitation facilities in urban areas is almost twice that in rural areas. But urbanization can also have adverse environmental effects, con-
0 Europe Middle East East Latin America & & Central & North Asia & Pacific Africa Caribbean Asia
centrating pollution, harming health, and reducing productivity.
SubSaharan Africa
South Asia
High income
World
Source: Online table 3.12.
Developing countries join the WAVES partnership The Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) is a global partnership that promotes sustainable develop-
Botswana’s sector shares of water use, formal employment, and GDP, 2011–12 (%) Water consumption Formal employment GDP 50
ment by mainstreaming natural resources in development planning and national economic accounts. Water accounts, a subset of natural capital accounts, collect data on water stocks and flows and water rights and use. They provide a conceptual framework for organizing
40 30 20
water resources data for use in resource allocation policies at the
gascar, and the Philippines joined WAVES in 2012. Using the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting methodology approved by the UN Statistics Commission, Botswana updated its water accounts from the 1990s using natural capital accounting. In addition to water accounts, Botswana’s natural capital accounts will include land and ecosystem accounts, with a focus on tourism, minerals, and energy.
Economy
States and markets
10 0
Ag ric ult Ho ure us eh old us e Mi nin So cia g Go l& ve rnm pe rso en t na ls Ins er ura v ice Ma nc s e, nu ba fac nk tur ing i n g ,& bu sin es s Ho tel Tra s& de res tau Tra ran ns ts Co po ns rt tru & c co mm tion un ica tio n
national and regional levels. Botswana, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mada-
Source: Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Botswana Department of Water Affairs.
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World Development Indicators 2014
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