(10 June 2021) While 30% of the world's largest corporations have already made a commitment to reducing carbon emissions, there are other companies whose economic activity is inextricably linked to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and for whom reducing their carbon footprint is barely feasible — the so-called "carbon majors." In its 2020 Carbon Majors report, the Climate Accountability Institute estimates that between 1965 and 2018, 493 billion tons of greenhouse gases (in CO2 equivalent), or 35% of global GHG emissions from fossil fuels and cement production, were emitted from the combustion of coal, oil, and gas produced by twenty major fossil fuel companies.

  • 4.3% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels combustion and cement production between 1965 and 2018 can be attributed to Saudi Aramco, one of the largest public companies in the world.
  • The list of top twenty carbon majors also includes four US companies, which taken together are responsible for more than 8% of global CO2 emissions from 1965 through 2018.

Note: List of fossil fuel majors doesn't necessary corresponds to the list of carbon majors. List of fossil fuel majors is usually comprised of largest fossil fuels producers ranked by market value, annual revenue or amount of produced fossil fuels. List of carbon majors includes companies ranked by the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted in the process of production and from the combustion of produced fossil fuels.

Related Insights from Knoema

IPCC: Climate Change Is Irreversible Over Thousands of Years

(10 August 2021) "Climate change is irreversible." This was perhaps the most significant conclusion of the most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report, a product of the combined efforts of 234 scientists from 66 countries, projects that in the coming decades climate changes will increase in all regions of the globe, with increasing heat waves, longer warm seasons, and shorter cold seasons. Sea level will continue to rise, and the likelihood of crossing the global temperature increase level of 1.5°C (relative to the preindustrial period,...

The True Carbon Emission Country Ranking

(02 December 2021) As governments and businesses aim to reduce carbon footprint to meet climate targets, measuring carbon emissions at global, country, and corporate levels has become extremely important. A key tool designed to reduce carbon footprint is carbon pricing/taxation, in which a government sets a price (or a carbon tax) that emitters must pay for each ton of greenhouse gas emissions they emit. Existing carbon pricing schemes tax only current carbon flows, but what about carbon emissions of the past? Who should pay for these? Using Global Carbon Atlas data on fossil fuel...

Which Countries Have the Most Ambitious 2030 Emissions-Reduction Targets?

Climate change is recognized as a significant issue for people's lives and economic well-being worldwide. Since greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are associated with climate change, many countries have been making efforts to regulate and limit them. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries pledged to advance climate change mitigation by committing to national GHG reduction targets. In 2015, the countries submitted their first national strategies, known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs, for reducing their share of greenhouse gases by 2030. The data visualizations below...

Greenhouse Gases | Country Profiles

It is generally accepted that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere venting from anthropogenic sources are in part responsible for global warming, one driver of global climate change. While the reality of global warming itself is still under political and scientific debate, measurements indicate that the average temperature on Earth has increased by 0.7 degrees Celsius since the start of the Industrial Revolution. To estimate the influence of and prevent dangerous interference from anthropogenic sources in the global climate system, reliable estimates of emissions and...