Only 100 Companies Are Responsible For 71 Percent of Global Emissions, Says Study (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Just 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, according to a new report. The Carbon Majors Report (pdf) "pinpoints how a relatively small set of fossil fuel producers may hold the key to systemic change on carbon emissions," says Pedro Faria, technical director at environmental non-profit CDP, which published the report in collaboration with the Climate Accountability Institute. The report found that more than half of global industrial emissions since 1988 -- the year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established -- can be traced to just 25 corporate and state-owned entities. The scale of historical emissions associated with these fossil fuel producers is large enough to have contributed significantly to climate change, according to the report. ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron are identified as among the highest emitting investor-owned companies since 1988. If fossil fuels continue to be extracted at the same rate over the next 28 years as they were between 1988 and 2017, says the report, global average temperatures would be on course to rise by 4C by the end of the century. This is likely to have catastrophic consequences including substantial species extinction and global food scarcity risks.

Comments

I don't think this means they're polluters

[rsilvergun]

I think it's more likely that almost everything is owned by 100 companies.

Re: I don't think this means they're polluters

[GreatDrok]

"Solar power produces about 5 W/m^2, which means a nation would have to cover 20% of their land in solar PV panels to achieve a standard of living like the UK."

Hmm, now if only houses had a large surface area above them where you could fit solar panels. Then we wouldn't have to cover 20% of our land in solar PV panels, we could just use the land that is already covered in houses.

Don't count Corporate Entities, Count Products

[wisnoskij]

Corporate entities counting is disingenuous. Pollution is not just produced, it is the byproduct of some job. Presumably there 100 companies produce over 70% of the work we use. They supply the gas we use to get to work, raise the cattle we eat, or produce our electricity. Who cares how they want to group themselves, that is the realm of accountants and lawyers.