Tag: IPCC

Exposing the Climate Giants: The Impact of Carbon Majors on Global Emissions

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Pollution emitter. Photo by Marcin Jozwiak on Unsplash

Carbon Majors: 57 fossil fuel and cement producers linked to 80% of global fossil CO2 emissions since the Paris Agreement

The Carbon Majors Database: Launch Report, a new comprehensive analysis conducted by InfluenceMap sheds light on the substantial impact that a small group of carbon-producing entities has on global CO2 emissions. This enlightening study traces back to 1854, identifying 117 producers responsible for a staggering 88% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and cement between 2016 and 2022. This revelation comes post-Paris Agreement, underscoring the paradox of increased fossil fuel production amidst global pledges for emission reduction.

The Carbon Majors Database

The Carbon Majors Database, initially developed by Richard Heede of the Climate Accountability Institute and now hosted by InfluenceMap, offers an astonishing look into the historical emissions of the world’s largest oil, gas, coal, and cement producers. By categorizing these entities into investor-owned, state-owned, and nation-states, the database highlights the disproportionate role these entities play in driving global CO2 emissions.



Top 10 entities global fossil CO2 emitters historically (1854–2022) and since Paris Agreement (2016–2022). Source: The Carbon Majors Database Launch Report, April 2024 by InfluenceMap.

The database reveals that 57 corporate and state entities linked to fossil fuel and cement production are responsible for 80% of the global emissions from 2016 through 2022. This period, notably after the Paris Agreement, has seen most fossil fuel companies ramp up their production, indicating a glaring misalignment with global climate goals.

The analysis underscores a troubling trend: the majority of fossil fuel companies have increased their production post-Paris Agreement, with a notable rise in emissions from Asian and Middle Eastern producers. This contradicts the global consensus on reducing fossil fuel dependence to mitigate climate change impacts.

Accountability and Climate Change

The report’s findings have implications in legal, regulatory, and academic contexts, offering a basis for holding fossil fuel producers accountable for their climate-related impacts. It emphasizes the need for corporate entities to align their operations with climate science and contribute to global emission reduction efforts.

A key insight from the report is the shift in coal production from investor-owned to state-owned entities, contributing to an increase in global coal consumption. This shift poses challenges to global emission reduction efforts, highlighting the need for comprehensive policies to address state-owned entities’ roles in coal production.

The report provides a granular look at emissions trends across different regions, with Asia and the Middle East experiencing significant increases in fossil fuel production and emissions. Conversely, North America and Europe show a more moderate trend, reflecting diverse global approaches to energy production and climate policy.

Final Thoughts

The Carbon Majors Report is a clarion call for immediate action against the entities most responsible for the climate crisis. There is an urgent need for global cooperation to halt the expansion of fossil fuel production and ensure a just transition to renewable energy sources. It underscores the imperative of global cooperation and corporate accountability in the pursuit of a sustainable future, emphasizing the role of data-driven analysis in informing policy and advocacy efforts.

Source: The Carbon Majors Database Launch Report, April 2024 by InfluenceMap.

‘Our choices will reverberate for hundreds, even thousands, of years.’

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In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted the unprecedented scale of the challenge required to keep warming to 1.5°C (or 2.7°F). Five years later, that challenge has become even greater due to a continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

The warning

The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report warns that the pace and scale of climate action are insufficient to tackle climate change. More than a century of burning fossil fuels as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use has led to global warming of 1.1°C (2.0°F) above pre-industrial levels. This has resulted in more frequent and more intense extreme weather events that have caused increasingly dangerous impacts on nature and people in every region of the world.

According to the IPCC, every increment of warming results in rapidly escalating hazards. More intense heatwaves, heavier rainfall, and other weather extremes further increase risks for human health and ecosystems. Increased warming also increases food and water insecurity. As risks combine and grow, they become even more difficult to manage.

Taking the right action now could result in the transformational change essential for a sustainable, equitable world.

The challenge

We need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly half by 2030 to create a safer and more sustainable world. We need to scale up practices and infrastructure to enhance resilience. This climate action needs to happen along several dimensions and needs to be designed for diverse contexts. Further, increased financing for climate action at a level three to six times the current climate investment is needed.

The hope

Mainstreaming effective and equitable climate action now will reduce losses and damages. We currently have multiple, feasible, and effective options available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We have the ability to adapt to human-caused climate change.

Integrating measures to adapt to climate change with climate action provides wider benefits:

  • Improving people’s health and livelihoods
  • Reducing poverty and hunger
  • Providing clean energy, water, and air

The resilience

Fairness is one of the solutions. and lies in developing climate resilience. This involves integrating measures to adapt to climate change with actions to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions in ways that provide wider benefits.

“Climate justice is crucial because those who have contributed least to climate change are being
disproportionately affected.”

-Aditi Mukherji, one of the 93 authors of this Synthesis Report

Climate resilient development becomes progressively more challenging with every increment of warming. This is why the choices made in the next few years will play a critical role in deciding our future and that of generations to come.

Resiliency to be effective needs to be rooted in our diverse values, worldviews, and scientific, Indigenous Knowledge, and local knowledge. This approach will allow locally appropriate, socially acceptable solutions.

Our climate is interconnected with society and ecosystems. Effective and equitable conservation of approximately 30-50% of the Earth’s land, freshwater, and ocean will help ensure a healthy planet. Changes in the food sector, electricity, transport, industry, buildings, and land use can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, foster low-carbon lifestyles, and enable health and well-being. A better understanding of the consequences of overconsumption can help people make more informed choices.

IPCC’s Synthesis Report of the Six Assessment Report (AR6 SYR) to be published in March 2023

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is in the final stages of its Sixth Assessment cycle. Be on the lookout for its AR6 SYR on March 20, 2023.

Every 6 to 7 years, the IPCC publishes comprehensive scientific assessment reports. The last report, the Fifth Assessment Report completed in 2014, provided the main scientific input to the Paris Agreement. Be on the lookout for the Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6 SYR) on its scheduled release date of March 20, 2023.

The IPCC is a UN body responsible for assessing the science related to climate change. The body provides political leaders with periodic scientific assessments about climate change. It also covers climate implications, risks, as well as adaptation and mitigation strategies. The assessments help governments develop climate policies. They also offer input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change.

For the assessment reports, experts worldwide volunteer their time as IPCC authors. The IPCC authors evaluate thousands of scientific papers published each year. They provide a comprehensive summary of climate change. They summary includes ways in which adaptation and mitigation can reduce the risks imposed by our changing climate. The IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages to guarantee objectivity and transparency.

The AR6 SYR covers the content of three Working Groups Assessment Reports: WGI – The Physical Science Basis, WGII – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, WGIII – Mitigation of Climate Change, and the three Special Reports: Global Warming of 1.5°C, Climate Change and Land, The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.

The AR6 SYR style is non-technical, in the six official UN languages. It consists of two parts, a Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of 5 to 10 pages and a Longer Report of 30 to 50 pages.

We’re looking forward to reading the report and sharing key takeaways.