The line chart illustrates average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita in the UK, Sweden, Italy and Portugal over 40 years from 1967 to 2007. Units were measured in metric tonnes.
On the whole, the UK and Sweden showed a general decreasing trend in terms of CO2 emissions while Italy and Portugal both witnessed a steady rising trend. Throughout this period, the UK had the highest CO2 emissions, while Portugal remained the lowest.
In 1967, the highest CO2 emissions were in the UK, at around 11, followed by Sweden at approximately 9. Italy and Portugal had relatively lower emissions, at around 4 and 1 respectively. Around 1987, CO2 emissions per capita in the UK steadily dropped to 10, still being the highest. In Sweden, despite the short initial increase to above 10, CO2 emissions later dropped to around 7, which was the same as those in Italy, which had witnessed an increase. At the same time, the average emissions of CO2 climbed to around 3 in Portugal, remaining the lowest.
In 2007, CO2 emissions continued falling in the UK, now at around 9, albeit still the highest among the four countries. CO2 emissions in Italy had been climbing consistently to slightly under 8, now being the second highest. The falling trend of CO2 emissions in Sweden continued, meeting those in Portugal at around 5.