Vast Majority Of Carbon Emissions Linked To Only 57 Companies Since 2016

Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, and Shell feature in the top 20 list of producers.

Up to 80 percent of carbon emissions pumped out since 2016 can be traced back to just 57 companies, according to a new report. 

Published by the independent think tank InfluenceMap, the report was produced using the Carbon Majors Database. Among the 57 entities they name and shame, there’s an array of nation-states, state-owned firms, and investor-owned corporations that are involved in fossil fuel extraction and the production of cement, an energy-intensive process that accounts for at least 8 percent of the world’s CO₂ emissions. 

All in all, the world’s top five CO₂-emitting entities (since 2016) were China’s coal production, the state-owned oil firm Saudi Aramco, Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom, state-owned producer Coal India, and the National Iranian Oil Company.

A number of “the usual suspects” from the West also appear in the top 20 list, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, and Shell.

“The Carbon Majors research shows us exactly who is responsible for the lethal heat, extreme weather, and air pollution that is threatening lives and wreaking havoc on our oceans and forests. These companies have made billions of dollars in profits while denying the problem and delaying and obstructing climate policy,” Tzeporah Berman, International Program Director at Stand.earth and Chair at Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, said in a statement.

“They are spending millions on advertising campaigns about being part of a sustainable solution, all the while continuing to invest in more fossil fuel extraction. These findings emphasize that, more than ever, we need our governments to stand up to these companies, and we need new international cooperation through a Fossil Fuel Treaty to end the expansion of fossil fuels and ensure a truly just transition,” continued Berman. 

Nation-state producers account for 38 percent of emissions in the database since 2016, while state-owned entities account for 37 percent and investor-owned corporations for 25 percent. 

The report found a significant rise in state and state-owned producers since 2016 – the year of the historic Paris climate agreement that vowed to limit climate change to “well below 2°C (3.6°F) above pre-industrial levels” by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

This trend is most prominent in the Asian coal sector. While Europe and North America have made progress in weaning themselves off coal, this has been overshadowed by the booming coal industry in Asia, primarily driven by China and India. 

Along with tracking carbon emissions since 2016, the report also looked at historical emitters from 1854 until 2022. This revealed that 122 producers were responsible for 72 percent of global fossil fuel and cement CO₂ emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Chief among those historical contributors are China’s coal production, the former Soviet Union, Saudi Aramco, Chevron, and ExxonMobil.