Majority of recent CO2 emissions linked to just 57 producers, report says

By and
Item 1 of 3 A view shows the Orenburg gas processing plant of Gazprom in the Orenburg Region, Russia September 1, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
[1/3]A view shows the Orenburg gas processing plant of Gazprom in the Orenburg Region, Russia September 1, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
  • Emissions traced to fossil fuel, cement producers
  • Most companies expanded production since 2016
  • CO2 data already being used in climate lawsuits
BRUSSELS/BERLIN, April 4 (Reuters) - The vast majority of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions since 2016 can be traced to a group of 57 fossil fuel and cement producers, researchers said on Thursday.
From 2016 to 2022, the 57 entities including nation-states, state-owned firms and investor-owned companies produced 80% of the world's CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and cement production, said the Carbon Majors report by non-profit think tank InfluenceMap.
The world's top three CO2-emitting companies in the period were state-owned oil firm Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab, Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM), opens new tab and state-owned producer Coal India (COAL.NS), opens new tab, the report said.
Saudi Aramco declined to comment. Coal India and Gazprom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The report found most companies had expanded their fossil fuel production since 2015, the year when nearly all countries signed the U.N. Paris Agreement, committing to take action to curb climate change.
Since then, while many governments and companies have set tougher emissions targets and rapidly expanded renewable energy, they have also produced and burned more fossil fuels, causing emissions to rise.
Global energy-related CO2 emissions hit a record high last year, the International Energy Agency has said.
InfluenceMap said its findings showed that a relatively small group of emitters were responsible for the bulk of ongoing CO2 emissions, and it aimed to increase transparency around which governments and companies were causing climate change.
"It can be used in a variety of cases, ranging from legal processes seeking to hold these producers to account for climate damages, or it can be used by academics in quantifying their contributions, or by campaign groups, or even by investors," InfluenceMap Program Manager Daan Van Acker said of the report.
A previous edition of the Carbon Majors database was cited last month in a legal case brought by a Belgian farmer against French oil and gas company TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), opens new tab. The farmer argued that as one of the world's top 20 CO2-emitting companies, TotalEnergies was partly responsible for damage to his operations from extreme weather.
The database was first launched in 2013 by the non-profit research organisation Climate Accountability Institute.
It combines companies' self-reported data on coal, oil and gas production with sources like the U.S. Energy Information Administration, national mining associations and other industry data.
Carroll Muffett, CEO of the non-profit Center for International Environmental Law said the database would improve investors' and litigators' ability to track companies' actions over time.

Sign up here.

Reporting by Kate Abnett and Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Jamie Freed and Tom Hogue

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Purchase Licensing Rights

Thomson Reuters

Kate Abnett covers EU climate and energy policy in Brussels, reporting on Europe’s green transition and how climate change is affecting people and ecosystems across the EU. Other areas of coverage include international climate diplomacy. Before joining Reuters, Kate covered emissions and energy markets for Argus Media in London. She is part of the teams whose reporting on Europe’s energy crisis won two Reuters journalist of the year awards in 2022.

Thomson Reuters

Riham Alkousaa is the energy and climate change correspondent for Reuters in Germany, covering Europe’s biggest economy's green transition and Europe’s energy crisis. Alkousaa is a Columbia University Journalism School graduate and has 10 years of experience as a journalist covering Europe’s refugee crisis and the Syrian civil war for publications such Der Spiegel Magazine, USA Today and the Washington Times. Alkousaa was on two teams that won Reuters Journalist of the year awards in 2022 for her coverage of Europe’s energy crisis and the Ukraine war. She has also won the Foreign Press Association Award in 2017 in New York and the White House Correspondent Association Scholarship that year.

Read Next