There has been a big push since the 1990s (at least), asking consumers to do their part to save the Earth.
Recycling, reducing your carbon footprint, eating less meat, you name it.
But researchers know the truth: the contributions consumers make to the fight are negligible at best.
It probably won’t shock you to learn that just 57 global entities are responsible for almost all of the negative contributions as far as emissions.
The Carbon Majors Database recently released a new briefing as far as the worst carbon emissions offenders. It looks specifically at the six-year period between the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and 2022.
About a third of these 57 entities are investor-owned oil companies, like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP.
The other 36% are made up of state-owned energy corporations, like Saudi Aramco and Russia’s Gazprom.
The rest are nation-state producers, largely China and Russia.
These 57 entities account for 88% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, and put out 251 gigatons of carbon dioxide annually.
The Carbon Majors Database seeks to hold polluters accountable, and is working to help establish corporate accountability for climate-related human rights violations.
They’ve also gotten key metrics, which allows us to quantify how these emissions impact global surface temperature, sea level, etc.
Mainly, they want people to know who is actually responsible for the failures to really turn the tide against climate change.
Richard Heede, the company’s founder, spoke with The Guardian on why this is so important.
“It is morally reprehensible for companies to continue expanding exploration and production of carbon fuels in the face of knowledge now for decades that their products are harmful. Don’t blame consumers who have been forced to be reliant on oil and gas due to government capture by oil and gas companies.”
Of all of the offenders on the list, only Shell – who accounted for just 2% of total emissions between 2016 and 2022, responded.
The rest apparently feel like we should be left to our guilt-fueled delusions.
If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read a story that reveals Earth’s priciest precious metal isn’t gold or platinum and costs over $10,000 an ounce!