Hi! It’s konkaz (@konkazuk).
In the previous article, “Carbon Footprint Explained: A Beginner’s Guide to Your Environmental Impact“, I briefly introduced the idea of what a carbon footprint actually means.
To make the idea easier to understand, I explained it in terms of how much CO₂ is emitted over the course of a product’s life ー from production to disposal.
But CO₂ emissions are not limited to products alone. In reality, each of us emits CO₂ every day through our daily activities.
In this article, to deepen our understanding, we will look at how much CO₂ we emit each day, using concrete numbers.
How much CO₂ does one person produce in a day?
First, according to Worldometer, a website that provides statistical data across many global fields, the global average CO₂ emissions per person are estimated at about 4.8 tonnes per year.
When we convert this to a daily amount,
we get…
4,800 kg ÷ 365 days = approximately 13 kg.
On the other hand, some sources put the annual figure at 4.6 or 4.7 tonnes. When these estimates are taken into account, we can say that…
the average amount of CO₂ emitted per person per day is around 12 kilograms.
This is the amount of CO₂ that we emit in our daily lives just by eating, using electricity, and traveling ー nothing out of the ordinary.
That said, this figure is only an average, and it varies significantly depending on the country you live in.
I’m currently living in the UK, and if we check Japan’s average CO₂ emissions per person (total emissions of the country divided by its population), the UK is roughly at the global average, emitting about 12 kilograms per day per person. In contrast, Japan’s per-capita emissions are approximately twice as high.
This means that each person emits approximately 24 kilograms of CO₂ per day.
That’s about twice the global average, and it happens even when people are just living their everyday lives.
How much CO₂ each person can emit under climate goals
The Paris Agreement does not set a definite deadline for keeping global warming below 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels.
However, given the current rate of temperature increase, experts say we need to meet this goal by 2030 if we want to continue living safely — otherwise the consequences could be very serious.
And, too actually reach the 1.5°C target…
global average CO₂ emissions per person would need to be reduced to about 6 kilograms per day by around 2030.
This means that Japan’s average of roughly 24 kilograms per day is four times higher than the target of around 6 kilograms.
At the current pace of emissions reductions in each country, it is highly unlikely that we will reach the target of 6 kilograms per day by 2030. That’s why it’s crucial not only for governments and businesses to take action, but also for each of us to rethink our daily choices.
Understanding daily CO₂ emissions per person through numbers
Having grown used to the conveniences of life in developed countries, many of us honestly don’t have a clear sense of what it means when we’re told that daily CO₂ emissions are 6 or 12 kilograms per person.
To make it easier to picture, here are some everyday examples of CO₂ emissions…
▪️ Driving 10 km in a normal petrol car = roughly 2 kg
(about 1 kg in a small car).
▪️ One beef-based meal = around 2–3 kg
(think beef bowls or meat-heavy convenience store meals)
▪️ One Starbucks latte = 0.3–0.5 kg
▪️ Heating water for a shower or bath = about 1 kg
▪️ TV, lights, and other household appliances combined = roughly 1 kg
As you can probably picture, even a quick drive to Yoshinoya — a popular Japanese fast-food chain that serves beef bowls — and grabbing a meal there can use up all the CO₂ you’re “allowed” for one day under the 1.5°C goal.
Anyway….
it’s important to remember that these numbers aren’t about blaming anyone — they’re meant to give us an idea of how much CO₂ we personally produce.
I think knowing this reality is the first step towards seeing climate goals not as something “happening somewhere else”, but as a matter that concerns our everyday lives.
Even small steps count, so let’s all start thinking seriously about the future—for ourselves and for the next generation.
Until next time,
konkaz
*You can read this blog post in Japanese from the link below.
👉 私たちは1日にどれくらいCO₂を排出しているのか？【一人あたり平均で解説】