The exploitation of the world’s oil, gas and coal reserves by just 20 fossil fuel companies is directly linked to more than one-third of the planet’s carbon emissions. Their relentless greed led them to ignore decades of warnings about what their practices were doing to the world. This information has come to light through a report conducted by The Guardian.
The top 20 companies from the list of carbon emitters have contributed to 35% of all energy-related carbon dioxide and methane emissions worldwide. There is proof that it has been known since 1965 that fossil fuels were having an effect on climate change. The president of the American Petroleum Institute, Frank Ikard, informed his industry about it in a Desmog report:
The substance of the report is that there is still time to save the world’s peoples from the catastrophic consequence of pollution, but time is running out.
That excerpt is just one of countless warnings, all of which have been thoroughly ignored, pushing the world into a climate crisis. Yet, somehow there are still people denying climate change to this very day! For instance, the head of OPEC, Mohammed Barkindo, said this summer that “climate activists are the biggest threat to the industry and they are making false claims that mislead the public with unscientific warnings about global warming,” as EcoWatch reported. “Civil society is being misled to believe oil is the cause of climate change,” he continued.
Of the 20 companies, twelve of them are state-owned. Those twelve make up 20% of the total emissions. Saudi Aramco is in the lead, single-handedly being responsible for over 4% of global emissions, according to the new analysis by the Climate Accountability Institute.
Second and third behind Saudi Aramco are investor-owned firms, California-based Chevron and Exxon, respectively. Others that made the list include household names Shell, BP, and ConocoPhillips.
Michael Mann, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, stresses the fact that these findings highlight the outweighing contribution that fossil fuel companies make to the climate crisis. He told The Guardian:
The great tragedy of the climate crisis is that seven and a half billion people must pay the price – in the form of a degraded planet – so that a couple of dozen polluting interests can continue to make record profits. It is a great moral failing of our political system that we have allowed this to happen.
There are too many facts out in the open for everyone to see. There is no hiding the reality now. Richard Heede of the Climate Accountability Institute, who led the research added:
These companies and their products are substantially responsible for the climate emergency, have collectively delayed national and global action for decades, and can no longer hide behind the smokescreen that consumers are the responsible parties. Oil, gas, and coal executives derail progress and offer platitudes when their vast capital, technical expertise, and moral obligation should enable rather than thwart the shift to a low-carbon future.
Elizabeth Warren made a good point during the climate town hall when she said that industry needs to be held accountable, not individuals – which falls right in line with this new report. When Chris Cuomo asked her about light bulbs she replied in exasperation:
Oh, come on, give me a break. This is exactly what the fossil fuel industry wants us to be talking about. That’s what they want us to talk about…The fossil fuel industry wants to stir up a lot of controversy around your light bulbs, around your straws and around your cheeseburgers.
The main purpose of the research is to show how those companies most responsible for carbon emissions should be held accountable. At the same time, public and political debates should shift away from focusing on individual responsibility. The report was published after a warning from the UN was put out saying that the world has only 12 years left to avoid the worst consequences of runaway global heating and restrict temperature rises to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
