Less than 60 companies linked to 80% of GHG emissions since 2016

Just 57 fossil fuel and cement producers were responsible for 80% of global fossil CO2 emissions since the Paris Agreement, says a new report.

Nation-state producers accounted for 38% of emissions in the database since the Paris Agreement, while state-owned entities accounted for 37%, and investor-owned companies for 25%.

As much as 88% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and cement from 2016 through 2022 can be linked to 117 producers, according to the Carbon Majors Database. The report was produced by InfluenceMap.

Most fossil fuel companies produced more fossil fuels in the seven years after the Paris Agreement than in the seven years before the agreement’s adoption, continued the report.

More than 72% of fossil fuel and cement CO2 emissions since the Industrial Revolution can be traced to the 122 entities in the Carbon Majors Database.

This report shows that the majority of global CO2 emissions produced since the Paris Agreement can be traced to a small group of high emitters who are failing to slow production, said the report.

The Carbon Majors dataset contains emissions data from 1854 through 2022.

New analysis of the entire dataset reveals that more than 70% of global fossil fuel and cement CO2 emissions since the Industrial Revolution can be traced to 78 corporate and state producing entities.

Over the same period, just 19 entities contributed 50% of these CO2 emissions.

Carbon Majors holds global significance as the first and only provider of this comprehensive view of corporate fossil fuel producers’ contributions to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

“It is morally reprehensible for companies to continue expanding exploration and production of carbon fuels in the face of knowledge now for decades that their products are harmful,” Richard Heede, who set up the Carbon Majors dataset in 2013, told the Guardian. “Don’t blame consumers who have been forced to be reliant on oil and gas due to government capture by oil and gas companies.”

The report states that the top five investor-owned companies, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips, are responsible for 11.1% of historical fossil fuel and cement CO2 emissions (196 GtCO2).

The top 5 state-owned companies, Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Pemex, are responsible for 10.9% of historical fossil fuel and cement CO2 emissions (194 GtCO2).

Coal supply since 2015 has shifted from investor-owned to state-owned entities. Investor-owned coal production emissions dropped by 939 MtCO2e, a decrease of 27.9%, from 2015 to 2022. However, emissions from nation-state and state-owned producers grew by 2,208 MtCO2e and 343 MtCO2e between 2015 and 2022, increases of 19% and 29% respectively.

The majority of fossil fuel companies totalled higher production in the seven years after the Paris Agreement compared to the seven-year period before. Additionally, 65% of state-owned companies and 55% of investor-owned companies showed higher production in 2016-2022 than in 2009-2015.

The increase in production by state- and investor-owned companies after the Paris Agreement compared with before the agreement is most prevalent in Asia. All five Asian investor-owned companies and eight out of the 10 Asian state-owned entities are linked to higher emissions in 2016-2022 compared with 2009-2015.

This is primarily shaped by rising emissions from Asian coal production.

"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,” said Tzeporah Berman, international programme director at Stand.earth and chair at Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

“These companies have made billions of dollars in profits while denying the problem and delaying and obstructing climate policy. 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 emphasise 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.”