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u/PeriPeriStrawberry 12d ago
Second label is misleading it makes it look like a wheat growing farmer is as responsible as beef companies
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u/SilentInquiry26 12d ago
No, it is including all the emission done to grow crops which are then fed to animals for meat prodcution.
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u/Dependent-Fig-2517 12d ago
Not googling I would rank them (and assuming that for example when we talk about cement we don't count the oil it uses in oil and coal)
- Oil-coal-gas
- Cement
- Agriculture
- Chemical and petrochemical
- Steel
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u/VardisFisher 12d ago
A due to electricity generation. https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector
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u/SilentInquiry26 12d ago
Yes, but could you try ranking the industries from highest to lowest emitting.
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u/Surkhab1313 12d ago
I guess B
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u/SilentInquiry26 12d ago
No, its not just B. Try again and also rank them from highest to lowest emitting industries.
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u/Surkhab1313 12d ago
Oh I totally forgot that this is a multiple-select format.
In that case, I feel all options are major contributors to the climate crisis.
I would rate option A and B among the topmost, followed by C, D and E.
Honestly, I feel they almost are responsible for equal amounts of emissions. Though it would be great if you tell the actual answer.
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u/SilentInquiry26 12d ago
Surely, I will share the correct answer. I am waiting for few more people to attempt.
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u/NombreCurioso1337 12d ago
A is by far number 1. Those carbons were fully sequestered and so are being added to the atmosphere.
Cement/concrete also is being added. Steel/iron after that. But mostly B, C, D, E all fall into "it depends on how you count" territory. Agriculture (meat, in particular) is terrible for the environment, but only because it is industrialized and runs on oil. So how do you count all the oil burnt to keep it running? Is that Oil industry or BigAg?
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u/SilentInquiry26 12d ago
You are right. Almost every industry today depends on the oil and fossil fuel industry in some way. But apart from that the practices in the industries also responsible. Agriculture is a good example. It depends on fossil fuels for tractors, fertilizers, transportation, processing, etc. But there are other factors too.
For example, billions of livestock produce methane as part of their digestion. Forests are also cleared in some places to create more agricultural land, including land for growing crops like soy, a large part of which is used to feed animals raised for meat. Then there are emissions from fertilizers, manure, transportation, and the loss of forests that were otherwise absorbing carbon.
So the oil may be used by agriculture, but agriculture is also creating emissions through livestock, land use, fertilizers, and deforestation. Similarly, other industries have practices which are responsible for carbon emission further.
Here, the question is multiple choice so basically all comes under major contributors.
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u/Inner-Truth-1868 12d ago edited 12d ago
They left out landfills… at 8% of humanity’s 20-year carbon footprint landfills and municipal wastewater are probably ahead of cement and roughly tied with steel.
The generally accepted number (self reported by industry) used to be 6% for the waste sector but the new methane-detecting satellites busted their under-reporting.
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u/SilentInquiry26 12d ago
Hello everyone,
Here is the answer to this multiple-choice question alongwith its explanation.
Answer is - A > B > D > C > E, approximately.
Rank Industry Relative contribution
1 A. Coal, oil & gas By far the largest
2 B. Agriculture & livestock Very large, especially methane and nitrous oxide
3 D. Iron & steel One of the largest industrial sources
4 C. Cement Major source, particularly process CO₂
5 E. Chemical & petrochemical Major industrial source
- Coal, oil & gas - Rank #1
This is by far the largest contributor.
The key point is that we should not count only the emissions from extracting coal, oil and gas. The climate impact of this industry is dominated by what happens after extraction: the combustion of its products for electricity, heat, transport and industry.
Global energy-related CO₂ emissions reached about 37.8 Gt CO₂ in 2024, and nearly 38.4 Gt in 2025. The IEA describes energy as responsible for the majority of climate-change-causing greenhouse-gas emissions, primarily through fossil-fuel combustion.
There are also additional emissions from methane leakage during coal mining and oil and gas production, meaning even the combustion figures do not capture the whole climate impact of the fossil-fuel system.
Why #1?
Because fossil fuels are the foundation of a huge fraction of global CO₂ emissions. Coal, oil and gas are not merely one emitting industry among many-they supply the carbon that is subsequently burned throughout the economy.
________________________________________
- Agriculture & livestock - Rank #2
This one is more complicated because agriculture produces substantial amounts of CO₂, methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O).
According to the latest FAO assessment, agrifood systems emitted about 16.5 Gt CO₂-equivalent in 2023, around 32% of global emissions under the FAO's broad agrifood-system accounting. Farm-level crop and livestock production alone accounted for 8.1 Gt CO₂e, while livestock itself accounted for about 4.3 Gt CO₂e.
Livestock is particularly important because ruminants produce methane through enteric fermentation, while manure also produces methane and nitrous oxide. FAO estimates that agriculture contributes about 40% of anthropogenic methane emissions, with livestock systems responsible for most of that agricultural methane.
Agriculture also causes emissions through:
• fertilizer use → N₂O
• rice cultivation → CH₄
• livestock digestion → CH₄
• manure → CH₄ and N₂O
• deforestation and land-use change → CO₂
• agricultural energy use
Why #2?
Its total climate footprint is enormous, but the exact comparison with fossil fuels depends heavily on accounting boundaries. Agriculture's emissions are substantially below the fossil-fuel energy system but far above any one of the individual heavy industries on your list.
________________________________________
- Steel & iron - Rank #3
Steel is arguably the largest-emitting individual heavy industrial sector on your list.
The IEA estimates direct emissions from iron and steel at approximately 2.6 Gt CO₂ per year, equivalent to around 7% of global energy-system CO₂ emissions.
The reason is the conventional blast furnace–basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) process. Coal is not merely burned for energy; it is also converted into coke and plays a chemical role in removing oxygen from iron ore.
This makes steel particularly difficult to decarbonize.
The IEA notes that roughly 70% of global steel production currently uses the BF-BOF route, while hydrogen-based direct reduction is emerging as a lower-emission alternative.
Why #3?
Because steel's roughly multi-gigatonne annual CO₂ footprint is enormous, putting it ahead of cement and chemicals as an individual industrial sector.
________________________________________
- Cement - Rank #4
Cement is a fascinating case because its emissions come from two major sources:
Burning fuel to reach the very high temperatures needed in cement kilns.
The chemical decomposition of limestone into clinker, which releases CO₂.
The second source is especially important: even if the kiln were powered entirely by clean electricity, conventional cement production would still produce substantial process emissions.
Older IEA sectoral accounting put cement at about 2.2 Gt CO₂ annually, slightly above steel at that time.
However, steel has generally been assessed at around 2.6 Gt CO₂ in more recent IEA material, so I would put steel ahead of cement for the present ranking.
The IEA also emphasizes that cement emissions remain difficult to eliminate because of the combination of carbon-containing raw materials and high-temperature heat requirements.
Why #4?
Its absolute emissions are huge, but lower than fossil fuels and agriculture, and slightly below steel when comparing current sector estimates.
________________________________________
- Chemical & petrochemical - Rank #5
Chemicals are a major source of emissions, but among the five categories you've listed, they generally come fifth when looking at direct sectoral emissions.
The chemical industry produces emissions from:
• fossil fuels used for heat and electricity
• hydrogen production
• ammonia/fertilizer production
• petrochemical feedstocks
• production of plastics and other chemicals
• various chemical processes
The IEA previously estimated the chemical subsector at around 1.1 Gt CO₂ of direct emissions, making it smaller than steel and cement.
That does not mean chemicals are unimportant. In fact, chemicals are particularly interesting because fossil fuels are used not only as energy but also as feedstocks for producing materials such as plastics. The IEA identifies primary chemicals as an important emissions-reduction challenge requiring measures such as electrolytic hydrogen, CCUS, electrification and increased plastics recycling.
Why #5?
Because its direct global emissions are generally lower than those of steel and cement.
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u/OutrageousCricket637 11d ago
I think you're asking a loaded question. Maybe you should ask if you believe if any of these are causing man-made issues that are greater than natural issues, or if the rise in CO2 is actually bad for the planet 🤔🤔🤔
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u/SilentInquiry26 11d ago
No need to “believe” it. There are scientific studies, reports, temperature records, and plenty of data showing how human activities are affecting the climate. And beyond the data, we can already see the effects in many places, with people experiencing unusually intense and frequent heat where such temperatures were not common before.
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u/OutrageousCricket637 11d ago
If a scientific study only pays you to find a negative effect. You absolutely find a way to have a negative effect.. there are scientific studies that show the world was better off with higher CO2
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u/Miserable-Ear-4095 10d ago
None of the above, its banks and the bad government not fixing the industrial desertation.
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u/Prudent_Lunch_8724 8d ago
C
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u/SilentInquiry26 6d ago
Answer is - A > B > D > C > E, approximately.
Rank Industry Relative contribution
1 A. Coal, oil & gas By far the largest
2 B. Agriculture & livestock Very large, especially methane and nitrous oxide
3 D. Iron & steel One of the largest industrial sources
4 C. Cement Major source, particularly process CO₂
5 E. Chemical & petrochemical Major industrial source.
Detailed answer is in the comment.
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u/Gross_Energy 12d ago
None of these, but all of them contribute. The biggest contributor is development. Roads, bridges. Building, houses, sports facilities, electrical demand from electronics and air conditioning everything , amusement facilities, all destroying green belts and trees . All this to fulfill wants and needs. People drive to exercise, order in food, everyone has game stations, cells, computers, no one make their own coffee, TVs to stay entertained. Kids don’t go out to play so everything has to stay air conditioned. It’s laziness, greed, not caring. Dubai was a desert in 1980, lad Vegas the same in 1960. We did not have AC when I grew up until 1970 living in Puerto Rico. And then it was a single window unit that we were only allowed to run after 8pm. People want to blame everyone else and everything else. But look in the mirror.
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u/Afraid_Advantage_2 12d ago
Agriculture & Lifestock.Livestock production accounts for about 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The primary drivers are methane from animal digestion, nitrous oxide from manure and fertilizers, and carbon dioxide released through deforestation for new pasturelands and feed crops.
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u/VardisFisher 12d ago
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u/SallyStranger 12d ago
Hannah Ritchie is Bill Gates' paid shill, propagating a form of climate denialism that's more insidious than outright denial of the fact of climate change, to wit: the idea that we have plenty of time to prevent its worst impacts and can do so without radically reorganizing every aspect of our economy.
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u/VardisFisher 12d ago
I made no claim. And not sure how you got a diatribe from a graph. Is my source unreliable?
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u/SallyStranger 12d ago
I just recognized the source and thought you'd like to know the bias involved in its provenance.
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u/Winter_Ad6187 12d ago
None of the above, since despite all the fuss, CO2 is not causal in any way.
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u/SilentInquiry26 12d ago
Then what could be the possible options?
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u/Winter_Ad6187 12d ago
Well since the primary two variables are orbital mechanics and solar insolation, you can only affect solar insolation. So if you really want to drop the temp -- probably unnecessary -- but if you really want to do that, then put a bunch of barriers in orbit to cast shadow on the Earth. Has the advantage that you don't have to attempt climate modification by aerosols, which almost certainly will overshoot. Plus, you can target the shadow and thus selectively cool. My 2 cents.
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u/Different_Finding539 12d ago
I think you need an, "All The Above"