Shanghai, Tokyo, New York, Houston spew most greenhouse gas of world cities: Data

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Cities in Asia and the United States are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, with Shanghai being the most-polluting city, a new data, which combined observations and artificial intelligence, revealed.

Seven states or provinces emit more than 1 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gases, all of them in China, except Texas, which ranks sixth, news agency AP reported. The data, provided by an organisation co-founded by former US Vice-President Al Gore and released during the United Nations climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, revealed.

Delegates at the climate talks are working to set new targets for reducing emissions and negotiating how much wealthier nations will contribute to global climate action.

According to AP, using advanced AI and satellite observations, Climate Trace quantified the emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other traditional air pollutants across the world, including data for more than 9,000 urban areas, which is a first-of-its-kind study.

Globally, the total carbon dioxide and methane pollution increased by 0.7% last year, reaching 61.2 billion metric tonnes, with methane emissions alone rising by 0.2%. "The figures are higher than other datasets because we have such comprehensive coverage and have observed more emissions across more sectors than typically available," said Gavin McCormick, co-founder of Climate Trace.

Shanghai topped the list of cities with 256 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing the total emissions of countries such as Colombia and Norway. Tokyo's emissions of 250 million metric tonnes would place it in the top 40 if it were a nation, while New York City's 160 million metric tonnes and Houston's 150 million metric tonnes would rank in the top 50 globally. Seoul, South Korea, ranks fifth with 142 million metric tonnes, reported AP.

Gore pointed out that a site in the Permian Basin in Texas is by far the largest-polluting site in the world. "Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised by that, but I think of how dirty some of these sites are in Russia and China. But the Permian Basin is putting them all in the shade," Gore said.

The countries with the largest increases in emissions from 2022 to 2023 include China, India, Iran, Indonesia, and Russia. In contrast, Venezuela, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States saw the biggest reductions in pollution.

The dataset, compiled by scientists and analysts from various organisations, also covers traditional pollutants such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, ammonia, and sulfur dioxide, all of which are associated with harmful air quality. "Burning fossil fuels releases both types of pollution," Gore explained.

He concluded, "This represents the single biggest health threat facing humanity."

(With AP inputs)