If it’s not done via satellite and relies on reporting from countries, then it must be very off. Who knows what I burn somewhere in a developing country? Plus, countries might just underreport it anyways
In: Planetary Science
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When you burn a gallon of gasoline, or diesel, or burn a pound of coal, the amount of CO2 produced per unit is know quite precisely. You can fairly accurately estimate CO2 production simply through knowing how much fuel is sold in a country.
There’s actually a REALLY good video by Simon Clarke, a PhD in Atmospheric Physics, on this exact problem: https://youtu.be/AfKqiadS3TE?si=ySzwUfhCdD8wyf7W
To summarise, satellites can actually detect how much CO2 is in the atmosphere, and by tracking the changes over time, not only can you forecast where the CO2 is going to move (which is actually exactly how weather forecast is done), you can also _hindcast_ the source of the carbon.
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