Carbon Majors

Fossil fuel companies bear substantial responsibility for the climate damages that can be traced to the extraction, processing, and marketing of carbon fuels. This work attributes two-thirds of cumulative CO2 emissions (914 GtCO2e) since the Industrial Revolution to the largest ninety oil, natural gas, coal, and cement producers. Fossil fuel companies face calls to keep reserves in the ground and to align investment and future production with the Paris Accord in order to keep global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Lawsuits and investigations have been filed against fossil fuel companies for their role in marketing products known to cause harm in United States, Germany, and the Philippines, and sure to follow in other jurisdictions. Insofar as these complaints are based on the harms caused by both direct operational and product-related emissions, a credible, peer-reviewed, and robust methodology must be used to trace emissions to the carbon producing entities. This gutsy and powerful body of work will be of interest to climate policy analysts, climate attribution scientists, economists, regulators, and energy experts.

Richard Heede leads Climate Accountability Institute's disruptive "Carbon Majors" project. He conducts complex emission inventories, collaborates on scientific investigations, supports litigators, and analyzes what fossil fuel producers must do to protect humanity from dangerous climate change. He lives near Aspen, Colorado.