Top 10 African countries with the highest carbon emissions

Despite being the continent that has contributed the least to global warming and has the lowest emissions, Africa stands as the most vulnerable continent to the impacts of climate change.

The continent is experiencing severe climate-related challenges, including intense droughts, water scarcity, rising sea levels, flooding, catastrophic storms, and a decline in biodiversity.

Earlier this month, African leaders and delegates met in Nairobi, Kenya for the continent’s inaugural climate summit to cover critical climate issues facing African nations, as well as climate finance solutions and green growth across the continent of about 1.4 billion people.

On an independent level, almost all African countries are a signatory to the Paris Agreement in 2015. Many of them have established net zero targets as part of their commitment to decarbonize their economies.

Making up approximately 17 per cent of the world's population, Africa is responsible for just four per cent of the planet's total carbon emissions, amounting to 1.45 billion tonnes.

In contrast, countries like China emit a significant 11.47 billion tonnes of carbon, while the United States contributes 5 billion tonnes to global emissions.

More than 60 per cent of Africa’s carbon emissions are attributed to just three countries: South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.

Here are the top 10 African countries with the highest carbon emissions, measured in tonnes according to Global Carbon Budget (2022).