India’s per capita CO2 emissions have been among the lowest among most Brics countries, data from the Brics Joint Statistical Publication 2026 showed

Published on: Sep 11, 2026, 07:54:00 IST

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India’s per capita CO2 emissions have been among the lowest among most Brics countries, data from the Brics Joint Statistical Publication 2026 showed. The data, available for most countries, barring China, for the period 2016-2022 shows India’s per capita CO2 emissions largely hovered around 2,000 kgs/per capita, peaking at 2053.3 kgs in 2022.

This was much lower than the per capita emissions of 6,005 kgs for Brazil in 2022, 3,559 kgs in Indonesia in 2022, 3,278 kgs in Russia in 2022 and 6,994 kgs for South Africa. High per capita CO2 emissions usually indicate high usage of fossil fuels.

The publication had no data from both China and UAE, while data for Iran was only available up to 2021, when the per capita emissions were 8,653 kgs. Interestingly, Ethiopia’s per capita emissions stood at 29 kgs in 2022. This meant every individual was responsible for removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they were releasing.

The publication also assessed ‘energy consumption per capita’ in kilograms of oil equivalent (kgoe), finding Russia’s consumption to be highest, followed by China and Iran. India has again, fared comparatively better there.

The publication looked at data for Brics countries from 2016-2025, finding only Brazil had data available for all these years. The energy consumption per capita in 2025 there was 1,534 kgoe. For Russia, the last available year was 2021, when it was 8,287 kgoe. For China, data was available up to 2024, when the energy consumption per capita was 2,962 kgoe. Recent data for South Africa was missing, while the latest figure for India – from 2024, was 609 kgoe.

“India’s per capita CO2 emissions remains amongst the lowest in Brics countries, underscoring its incredibly low fossil fuel intensity despite rapid growth. The data shows India is far below Brazil, Russia, South Africa and Iran. India’s development pathway is remarkably less carbon intensive than its peers, reinforcing the case of equitable climate responsibility and continued investment in clean energy while expanding access to the poorest. That is what is marking India’s development pathway at the moment,” said Anjal Prakash, an IPCC author and professor of public policy at FLAME University.

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