Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions, study says (excerpt): The Guardian (3 years old but still relevant)

Pics from this blog

Note: A three year old article but what has changed apart from some greenwashing?

A relatively small number of fossil fuel producers and their investors could hold the key to tackling climate change

Just 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, according to a new report.

 

Exxon

The Carbon Majors Report (pdf) “pinpoints how a relatively small set of fossil fuel producers may hold the key to systemic change on carbon emissions,” says Pedro Faria, technical director at environmental non-profit CDP, which published the report in collaboration with the Climate Accountability Institute. 

Traditionally, large scale greenhouse gas emissions data is collected at a national level but this report focuses on fossil fuel producers. Compiled from a database of publicly available emissions figures, it is intended as the first in a series of publications to highlight the role companies and their investors could play in tackling climate change.

The report found that more than half of global industrial emissions since 1988 – the year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established – can be traced to just 25 corporate and state-owned entities. The scale of historical emissions associated with these fossil fuel producers is large enough to have contributed significantly to climate change, according to the report.

Coal India Limited

ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron are identified as among the highest emitting investor-owned companies since 1988. If fossil fuels continue to be extracted at the same rate over the next 28 years as they were between 1988 and 2017, says the report, global average temperatures would be on course to rise by 4C by the end of the century. This is likely to have catastrophic consequences including substantial species extinction and global food scarcity risks.

Gazprom

While companies have a huge role to play in driving climate change, says Faria, the barrier is the “absolute tension” between short-term profitability and the urgent need to reduce emissions.

A Carbon Tracker study in 2015 found that fossil fuel companies risked wasting more than $2tn over the coming decade by pursuing coal, oil and gas projects that could be worthless in the face of international action on climate change and advances in renewables – in turn posing substantial threats to investor returns.

National Iranian Oil Co

CDP says its aims with the carbon majors project are both to improve transparency among fossil fuel producers and to help investors understand the emissions associated with their fossil fuel holdings.

A fifth of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions are backed by public investment, according to the report. “That puts a significant responsibility on those investors to engage with carbon majors and urge them to disclose climate risk,” says Faria.

China Coal

Investors should move out of fossil fuels, says Michael Brune, executive director of US environmental organisation the Sierra Club. “Not only is it morally risky, it’s economically risky. The world is moving away from fossil fuels towards clean energy and is doing so at an accelerated pace. Those left holding investments in fossil fuel companies will find their investments becoming more and more risky over time.” .......................................

Top 100 producers and their cumulative greenhouse gas emissions from 1988-2015

Count	Company	Percentage of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions
100	Southwestern Energy Co	0.04%
99	Indika Energy Tbk PT	0.04%
98	Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk PT	0.05%
97	Berau Coal Energy Tbk PT	0.06%
96	Murphy Oil Corp	0.06%
95	Noble Energy Inc	0.06%
94	OMV AG	0.06%
93	Turkmennebit	0.07%
92	Teck Resources Ltd	0.09%
91	Drummond Co	0.09%
90	Chesapeake Energy Corp	0.10%
89	Cloud Peak Energy Inc	0.10%
88	Westmoreland Coal Co	0.10%
87	Bahrain Petroleum Co (BAPCO)	0.10%
86	Kideco Jaya Agung PT	0.10%
85	Husky Energy Inc	0.11%
84	EOG Resources Inc	0.11%
83	Banpu Public Co Ltd	0.11%
82	AP Moller (Maersk)	0.11%
81	Kiewit Mining Group	0.12%
80	Inpex Corp	0.12%
79	Petroleos del Ecuador	0.12%
78	Adaro Energy PT	0.13%
77	KazMunayGas	0.13%
76	NACCO Industries Inc	0.13%
75	Novatek OAO	0.14%
74	Syrian Petroleum Co	0.15%
73	Alliance Resource Partners LP	0.15%
72	Murray Coal	0.15%
71	Apache Corp	0.15%
70	YPF SA	0.15%
69	Exxaro Resources Ltd	0.16%
68	Hess Corp	0.16%
67	Canadian Natural Resources Ltd	0.17%
66	Encana Corp	0.18%
65	Vistra Energy	0.19%
64	Marathon Oil Corp	0.19%
63	Natural Resource Partners LP	0.19%
62	Devon Energy Corp	0.20%
61	Petoro AS	0.21%
60	Suncor Energy Inc	0.22%
59	Bumi Resources	0.23%
58	North Korea Coal	0.23%
57	Tatneft OAO	0.23%
56	Sonangol EP	0.26%
55	Occidental Petroleum Corp	0.26%
54	Singareni Collieries Company	0.27%
53	Ecopetrol SA	0.27%
52	China National Offshore Oil Corp Ltd (CNOOC)	0.28%
51	China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec)	0.29%
50	Czech Republic Coal	0.30%
49	Petroleum Development Oman LLC	0.31%
48	Egyptian General Petroleum Corp	0.31%
47	Anadarko Petroleum Corp	0.33%
46	Repsol SA	0.33%
45	Sasol Ltd	0.35%
44	TurkmenGaz	0.36%
43	Glencore PLC	0.38%
42	Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd	0.40%
41	RWE AG	0.47%
40	Ukraine Coal	0.49%
39	Consol Energy Inc	0.50%
38	National Oil Corporation of Libya	0.50%
37	Statoil ASA	0.52%
36	Kazakhstan Coal	0.53%
35	PT Pertamina	0.54%
34	Qatar Petroleum Corp	0.54%
33	Alpha Natural Resources Inc	0.54%
32	Surgutneftegas OAO	0.57%
31	Anglo American	0.59%
30	Eni SPA	0.59%
29	Iraq National Oil Co	0.60%
28	Arch Coal Inc	0.63%
27	Rosneft OAO	0.65%
26	Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas)	0.69%
25	Nigerian National Petroleum Corp	0.72%
24	Rio Tinto	0.75%
23	Lukoil OAO	0.75%
22	Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras)	0.77%
21	ConocoPhillips	0.91%
20	BHP Billiton Ltd	0.91%
19	Total SA	0.95%
18	Kuwait Petroleum Corp	1.00%
17	Sonatrach SPA	1.00%
16	Peabody Energy Corp	1.15%
15	Poland Coal	1.16%
14	Abu Dhabi National Oil Co	1.20%
13	Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA)	1.23%
12	Chevron Corp	1.31%
11	BP PLC	1.53%
10	China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC)	1.56%
9	Royal Dutch Shell PLC	1.67%
8	Russia (Coal)	1.86%
7	Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex)	1.87%
6	Coal India	1.87%
5	ExxonMobil Corp	1.98%
4	National Iranian Oil Co	2.28%
3	Gazprom OAO	3.91%
2	Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco)	4.50%
1	China (Coal)	14.32%

Go to original article in The Guardian by Tess Riley

Note: This article is three years old.

Related: ‘Climate Donors’ Flock to Biden to Counter Trump’s Fossil Fuel Money (excerpt): New York Times