Japan consumes less than half the energy per capita that the US does. The UK is even lower. Portugal's energy per capita is less than 1/3 of the US figure [1]. Japan and South Korea consume less than half the meat per capita as the US [2].
These are all highly developed countries. When we consider sustainability and the limits of global development, "American" too often stands in for "developed," and "upper-income-bracket Texan" too often stands in for "American."
Even among Americans, there are large differences between states in CO2 emissions per capita:
New York has only 1/3 the per-capita emissions as Texas. If the rest of the globe wants to be like Americans, it still makes a big difference whether they want to live like in Houston or like in New York City.
These are all highly developed countries. When we consider sustainability and the limits of global development, "American" too often stands in for "developed," and "upper-income-bracket Texan" too often stands in for "American."
Even among Americans, there are large differences between states in CO2 emissions per capita:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ...
New York has only 1/3 the per-capita emissions as Texas. If the rest of the globe wants to be like Americans, it still makes a big difference whether they want to live like in Houston or like in New York City.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_energy_co...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_meat_cons...