The provided graph illustrates the projected trends in the volume of carbon emissions, measured in millions of metric tonnes, from five different regions between 2000 and 2040.
Overall, an increasing pattern is expected in the figures for region 3 and region 4, whereas region 1 is forecast to experience a steady drop in its carbon footprint over the period. In contrast, both region 2 and region 5 are predicted to fluctuate around their initial levels throughout. Equally notable is that, despite the declines, region 1 consistently represents the top emitter among five areas.
As for region 1, its carbon emissions started at 8 million metric tonnes (mmt) and steadily rose to over 9 mmt in the following decade. However, from 2010 onwards, this figure fell sharply to approximately 7.5 mmt by 2020 before slowly reaching 7 mmt by the end of the period.
Concerning the two increasing figures, a projected increase of around 2 mmt is expected in both region 3 and region 4 by 2040, which emitted 4 and roughly 3 mmt in 2000. It is also worth noting that by the end of the period, the carbon footprint of region 3 is projected to catch up with that of region 2, making it the second highest CO2 emitter.
Finally, region 2 and region 5 largely stabilized regardless of minor fluctuations over the 40-year span. In detail, the figure for region 2 started and ended the period at the same level of exactly 6 mmt. Meanwhile, although in 2040, that of region 5 was slightly higher than the initial number at over 1 mmt, it remained the least polluted area compared to the other counterparts.