Global carbon dioxide emissions are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a limited number of large corporations. According to the latest Carbon Major report, in 2024, only 32 fossil fuel-related mining companies accounted for 50% of all global CO2 emissions. In comparison, there were 36 such companies the previous year, indicating further concentration in the industry and an increase in its impact on climate change.
This is reported by Finway
Major Polluters: State and Private Giants
Significant pollution levels are associated with the activities of individual corporations, which even exceed the emission levels of many countries. The largest polluter among state-owned companies is Saudi Aramco—the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. If considered as a separate country, it would rank just below four countries in the world in terms of emissions, including Russia. Saudi Aramco’s emissions amounted to 1.7 billion tons of CO2.
Among private companies, the American corporation ExxonMobil leads, producing 610 million tons of CO2. This figure places it ninth in the unofficial ranking of polluters, surpassing even South Korea.
Sabotage by States and Impact on Climate Policy
Of the twenty largest polluting companies in the world, seventeen are state-owned. This situation exerts significant pressure on global initiatives for a “green” energy transformation, as these countries often boycott international efforts to combat global warming.
During the UN Climate Conference COP30, a phased withdrawal from fossil fuel use was proposed. However, all 17 states that own the largest polluting oil companies refused to support this plan. Among them are Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, the UAE, India, and Iran.
“This latest analysis confirms a harsh reality: a powerful, concentrated group of corporations operating in fossil fuels not only dominates global emissions but also actively sabotages climate action and undermines government ambitions,” said Zephora Berman from the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.
Increasingly, analytical data is becoming the basis for lawsuits against mining corporations. The Carbon Major database has allowed for linking corporate activities to waves of deadly heat and assessing the economic damages caused by climate change.
Specific studies indicate that certain companies have already inflicted trillions of dollars in damage to the global economy. These costs are associated with extreme weather events and measures to address them. A number of lawsuits against corporations include demands for compensation for the costs of protecting populations from the impacts of climate change.
Evidence from the Carbon Major database has become the basis for lawsuits in Germany and the USA. Rebecca Brown, head of the Center for International Environmental Law, emphasized:
“The evidence is mounting. The International Court of Justice and courts around the world are increasingly linking fossil fuel production to climate destruction, clearly indicating that major polluters must gradually phase out fossil fuels and pay damages,” stressed Rebecca Brown, head of the Center for International Environmental Law.