The fossil fuel giants have played an overwhelming role in the planet’s mounting climate crisis. According to a new report, just 20 of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies have pumped out more than a third of global greenhouse gas emissions over the past few decades.
The Climate Accountability Institute (CAI) has revealed that a handful of oil, gas, and coal companies are responsible for 480 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and energy-related methane pumped into Earth’s atmosphere since 1965, accounting for 35 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions between 1965 and 2017.
Twelve of the top 20 offenders are state-owned companies, while the remaining eight are private investor-owned companies, including four companies based in the USA.
Starting with the worst offenders, here’s a list of the companies.
Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia) — 4.38 percent
Chevron (USA) — 3.2 percent
Gazprom (Russia) — 3.19 percent
ExxonMobile (USA) — 3.09 percent
National Iranian Oil Co. (Iran) — 2.63 percent
BP (UK) — 2.51 percent
Royal Dutch Shell (The Netherlands) — 2.36 percent
Coal India (India) — 1.71 percent
Pemex (Mexico) — 1.67 percent
Petroleos de Venezuela (Venezuela) — 1.16 percent
PetroChina/China Natl Petroleum (China) — 1.15 percent
Peabody Energy (USA) — 1.14 percent
ConocoPhillips (USA) — 1.12 percent
Abu Dhabi (UAE) — 1.01 percent
Kuwait Petroleum Corp (Kuwait) — 1 percent
Iraq National Oil Co. (Iraq) — 0.93 percent
Total SA (France) — 0.91 percent
Sonatrach (Algeria) — 0.91 percent
BHP Billiton (Australia) — 0.72 percent
Petrobras (Brazil) — 0.64…