> Also to refer to China as a "3rd world country" is astonishing
> by China and 3rd world countries
By Mary and the guys (indicating that Mary is not a guy).
> Per capita, it's not the "3rd" world countries that are polluting, but the "1st" worlds
From your own source, the top polluters per capita are Qatar, Trinidad & Tobago and Kuwait. Qatar is wealthy, but probably not "1st world".
> I'm sad to see someone still referring to countries as "1st" and "3rd" world, as that's an incredibly outdated term
The AP standard was updated in 2015. The terms "1st", "2nd" and "3rd" world are still in common parlance even though the AP prefers "Developed" and "Developing".