14 DAY TRIAL // A new report pieced together by the folks at the Climate Accountability Institute says that the ongoing climate crisis is largely due to the emissions that merely 90 companies managed to produce within a fairly short time frame, i.e. from 1751 to 2010.
The report details that, together, these 90 companies have released about 914 gigatonnes of CO2.
This accounts for roughly two-thirds (63%) of the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that have been released into our planet's atmosphere since the dawn of the industrial age, The Guardian tells us.
What's interesting is that about 50% of the emissions that these companies are responsible for were produced over the past 25 years.
This means that, despite available data indicating that the practice of burning dirty fuels for energy causes tremendous damage to the environment, these companies stuck to business as usual.
83 of the companies now blamed for climate change and global warming are energy ones, and work in the production of oil, natural gas and coal. Chevron, Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell and Gazprom are some of them. The remainder 7 companies are all cement manufacturers, The Guardian details.
50 of the companies are investor owned, 31 are state owned and 9 are government run.
Commenting on the outcome of this report, specialist Richard Heede with the Climate Accountability Institute stressed that, “There are thousands of oil, gas and coal producers in the world. But the decision makers, the CEOs, or the ministers of coal and oil if you narrow it down to just one person, they could all fit on a Greyhound bus or two.”
What worries the researchers who took part in this investigation is the fact that the very same companies that must be blamed for the 21st century climate crisis presently have access to significant fossil fuels reserves. Should they decide to exploit them, odds are things will go from bad to worse.
“This study is a crucial step forward in our understanding of the evolution of the climate crisis. The public and private sectors alike must do what is necessary to stop global warming.”
“Those who are historically responsible for polluting our atmosphere have a clear obligation to be part of the solution,” former Vice-President Al Gore said.