57 companies account for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions since 2016

Utkarsh Classes Last Updated 09-04-2024

57 companies account for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions since 2016

Environment 4 min read

Just 57 companies are responsible for 80% of the world's carbon emissions from fossil fuels and cement over the past seven years, according to a report released by thinktank ‘InfluenceMap’. These 57 companies are involved in the production of oil, gas, coal and cement in the world.

Key points of the report:

A report released by the think tank concludes that the net zero target set under the Paris climate change agreement in 2015 has not been achieved. So far, fossil fuels have not been able to have a significant impact on production.
InfluenceMap reports production conditions in these high-emission industries are at a critical level. The production of cement and fossil fuels has reached unprecedented levels. Most of the emissions growth has come from a relatively small number of large companies.

Using data from the Carbon Measures database:

Report used Carbon Majors database for fossil fuel data from top 122 oil, gas, coal, cement producers.
The Carbon Measures database was founded in 2013 by Richard Heed of the Climate Accountability Institute.

The world needs to take more drastic steps:

A lack of progress by these big fossil fuel companies means less progress in reducing the world's carbon emissions.
More drastic action is still needed if countries are to meet the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.
The Carbon Measures database stresses accountability for companies, countries on emission reduction progress.
Companies need to define how to best align with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Also their progress should be monitored.
Researchers from Universities of Queensland, Oxford, and Princeton crafted an accountability framework. These standards outline strict, science-based requirements for tracking companies' progress towards Paris-aligned pathways.
A related follow-up study applied this framework to the Carbon Measures database. The team aligned production budgets of 142 fossil fuel firms with Paris-aligned IPCC scenarios.

Between 2014 & 2020, fossil companies produced more than the target:

Between 2014 and 2020, coal, oil and gas companies produced 64, 63 and 70 percent more than their targets, respectively. More details in this regard can be seen on the ‘Are You Paris Compliant’ ?website.

Government owned companies responsible:

InfluenceMap's 7-year report attributes emissions growth to government-owned firms.
More transparency will be available to investor-owned companies.
The International Financial Standards Foundation unveiled new climate disclosure standards in 2023.
The new standards are expected to provide investors, politicians, and the public with access to more transparent and consistent data. This will make it much easier for companies to accurately assess their climate performance, or lack thereof.