Just 57 companies linked to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions since 2016

<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/04/just-57-companies-linked-to-80-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-since-2016>

"A mere 57 oil, gas, coal and cement producers are directly linked to 80% of
the world’s global fossil CO2 emissions since the 2016 Paris climate agreement,
a study has shown.

This powerful cohort of state-controlled corporations and shareholder-owned
multinationals are the leading drivers of the climate crisis, according to the
Carbon Majors Database, which is compiled by world-renowned researchers.

Although governments pledged in Paris to cut greenhouse gases, the analysis
reveals that most mega-producers increased their output of fossil fuels and
related emissions in the seven years after that climate agreement, compared
with the seven years before.

In the database of 122 of the world’s biggest historical climate polluters, the
researchers found that 65% of state entities and 55% of private-sector
companies had scaled up production.

During this period, the biggest investor-owned contributor to emissions was
ExxonMobil of the United States, which was linked to 3.6 gigatonnes of CO2 over
seven years, or 1.4% of the global total. Close behind were Shell, BP, Chevron
and TotalEnergies, each of which was associated with at least 1% of global
emissions.

The most striking trend, however, was the surging growth of emissions related
to state and state-owned producers, particularly in the Asian coal sector.

This expansion, which has continued since, runs contrary to a stark warning by
the International Energy Agency that no new oil and gas fields can be opened if
the world is to stay within safe limits of global heating. Climate scientists
say global temperatures are rapidly approaching the lower Paris target of 1.5C
above the pre-industrial era, with potentially dire consequences for people and
the rest of nature."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics