The Evil Forces Behind Climate Change: Fossil Fuel Giants
The Guardian has unveiled the 20 fossil fuel companies whose relentless exploitation of the world's oil, gas, and coal reserves can be directly linked to over one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the modern era. This data, provided by the Climate Accountability Institute in the US, reveals how these state-owned and multinational firms are driving the climate emergency, even though they are aware of the industry's devastating impact on the planet.
The top 20 companies have contributed to 35% of all energy-related carbon dioxide and methane worldwide, totaling 480 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent since 1965. The list includes well-known names such as Chevron, Exxon, BP, and Shell, as well as state-owned companies like Saudi Aramco and Gazprom. Chevron, Exxon, BP, and Shell alone are behind more than 10% of the world's carbon emissions since 1965.
These companies have continued to expand their operations, despite knowing the environmental impact of fossil fuels. The study also found that 90% of the emissions attributed to these top 20 culprits were from the use of their products, such as petrol, jet fuel, natural gas, and thermal coal. One-tenth came from extracting, refining, and delivering the finished fuels.
Leading climate scientist Michael Mann emphasized the need for urgent measures to rein in these activities, stating, "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."
Read the full article here to learn more about these companies and their role in perpetuating the climate crisis.