Fossil-Fuel CO₂ Emissions from Central America, South America, and the Caribbean Nations

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What countries constitute the region?

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The region "Central and South America," as represented here, constitutes nearly 50 political entities, including Greenland, Bermuda, and the island nations of the Caribbean, in addition to all of Central and South America. Fossil-fuel emissions from the region have grown nine-fold since 1950 reaching 413 million metric tons of carbon in 2006. Only two countries (Mexico and Brazil) from this region appear in the inventory of the top 20 highest fossil-fuel CO₂- emitting countries. Mexico and Brazil account for 52.1% of the 2006 regional total of 413 million metric tons of carbon but only Mexico emits more than 100 million metric tons of carbon. Other countries in the region now emitting more than 10 million metric tons of carbon annually are Brazil (96.1), Argentina (47.3), Venezuela (46.8), Columbia (17.3), and Chile (16.4), and Peru (10.5). This is a region of great diversity. Liquid fuels account for 62.7% of the 2006 regional emissions. Coal burning is a notably small contributor in this region, accounting for only 7.3% of CO₂ emissions; most occurs in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Annual regional per capita emissions of CO₂ doubled between 1950 and 1973 and have grown modestly since. Per capita emissions are high in many of the Caribbean islands (e.g., Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba), with some exceeding 6.0 metric tons of carbon per person per year. Most of the larger mainland nations have lower per capita rates of fossil-fuel CO₂ emission: Mexico (1.13 metric tons of carbon per person per year), Argentina (1.21), Chile (1.00), and Brazil (0.51).