Eco facts & stats

Question 1

About how many billion tons of greenhouse gases did the world emit in 2025, the highest ever recorded?

Accepted Answer

over 60 billion tons CO2eq. Global emissions hit a new record high in 2025 despite decades of climate agreements aimed at reducing them.

Question 2

In 2023 data, which country was the largest emitter of CO2, responsible for about 34% of the global total?

Accepted Answer

China, 34.0%. China's emissions alone now exceed those of the United States, India and Russia combined.

Question 3

Average per-person carbon emissions worldwide are about how many tonnes a year, versus a Paris Agreement target of about 2.3 tonnes?

Accepted Answer

about 4.9 tonnes per person. The average person's carbon footprint is currently more than double what's considered compatible with Paris Agreement goals.

Question 4

Between 2015 and 2020, the world lost forest at a rate of about how many hectares a year?

Accepted Answer

about 10 million hectares a year. Even though the pace of forest loss has slowed since the 1990s, tens of millions of hectares still disappear every year.

Question 5

Since 1990, the world has lost a cumulative total of about how many hectares of forest?

Accepted Answer

about 420 million hectares. That's an area of forest loss roughly comparable to a large country disappearing over three decades.

Question 6

In 2018, how much municipal solid waste did the U.S. generate in total?

Accepted Answer

292.4 million tons. That works out to about 4.9 pounds of trash per person, per day, across the entire country.

Eco facts & stats

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