The United States, Brazil, Russia, and the European Union are all above the red diagonal line, meaning they have already "overspent." China and India are below the line, which means they have emitted less carbon dioxide to date than they would be allowed based on their population.
Does it matter how much the United States reduces its carbon dioxide emissions if China doesn’t do the same? Yes, it matters. Observed and anticipated increases in greenhouse gas emissions from China and other countries don’t let Americans off the hook for reducing emissions. From a purely physical perspective, any reduction in emissions helps minimize future temperature increases. From the perspective of fairness, the United States has released more heat-trapping gases to date than either China or India, the world’s two most populous countries.
- Close monitoring of the agriculture and livestock production sectors, as most decisions regarding environmentally friendly choices are currently up to each individual owner of farming businesses.