Just a few dozen companies are responsible for 80% of global emissions since 2016

Recent revelations highlight the significant impact on rising carbon dioxide emissions, which are attributable to just a few entities. According to the Carbon Majors database and its researchers, more than 70% of historical global CO₂ emissions can be attributed to just 78 corporate and state entities. Since 2016, when the Paris Agreement was concluded, 57 entities operating in the oil, gas, coal and cement industries have been directly responsible for a full 80% of global fossil CO₂ emissions.

This worrying trend persists despite international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, most major emitters increased their CO₂ emissions in the seven years after the Paris Agreement compared with the previous seven years.

The data also show a sharp rise in emissions from state-owned and state-controlled producers, particularly in Asia, posing a major challenge to global climate goals. This increase in emissions runs counter to warnings from the International Energy Agency, which stresses the need to refrain from opening new oil and gas fields and coal-fired power plants in order to limit the impacts of climate change. Asia’s rise as a dominant producer underscores the changing makeup of the largest CO₂ emitters.

The largest contribution to CO₂ emissions over the past 7 years came from ExxonMobil, at 3.6 GtCO₂e, followed by Shell, BP, Chevron and TotalEnergies. By comparison, the EU-27 emitted just under 3.24 MtCO₂e in 2022.

In response to mounting pressure to be held accountable, fossil fuel producers face increased scrutiny and demands for compensation for the environmental damage they have caused. Many have pledged to achieve net zero emissions and invested in renewable energy sources, but concrete action is still needed to meet the ambitious goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

The Carbon Majors database records 1 421 GtCO₂e of cumulative historical emissions from 1854 to 2022. Historically, more than 70% of these global CO₂ emissions can be attributed to just 78 corporate and state entities. The database divides entities into three types: publicly listed companies/corporations, state-owned companies and states.

Historically, publicly listed companies are responsible for 31% of all emissions tracked by the database (440 GtCO₂e), with Chevron, ExxonMobil and BP the three largest contributors. State-owned companies are linked to 33% of the database’s total (465 GtCO₂e), with Saudi Aramco, Gazprom and the National Iranian Oil Company the largest contributors. States account for the remaining 36% (516 GtCO₂e), with China and the former Soviet Union the largest contributors.

Accountability of multinational corporations

"It is morally unacceptable for companies to continue expanding fossil fuel exploration and production, especially given that they have known for decades that their products are harmful,"said Richard Heede, who created the Carbon Majors dataset in 2013.

"We should not blame consumers, who were forced to rely on oil and gas because governments were influenced by oil and gas companies," Heede added.

Heede argues that fossil fuel producers have a moral obligation to pay for the damage they have caused and worsened through their delaying tactics. He points to a proposal by Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, for oil and gas companies to contribute at least 10 cents from every dollar to a loss and damage fund.

Tighter regulation, or possibly the recovery of some of the profits made by oil and gas companies, is a topic that is coming up more and more often. Logically, this is the culmination of pressure to achieve climate goals.