A stark new report has revealed that a mere 32 fossil fuel corporations were responsible for generating half of the world's carbon dioxide emissions in 2024, a slight decrease from 36 companies the previous year. This concentration of pollution underscores the immense challenge in tackling the climate crisis, with critics accusing leading firms of actively undermining global climate action while emphasising that emissions data is increasingly being used to hold these entities to account.
State-Owned Polluters Dominate the List
The Carbon Majors report highlights that state-controlled fossil fuel producers make up 17 of the top 20 emitters. Saudi Aramco emerged as the largest state-owned polluter, responsible for a staggering 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2024, largely from exported oil. If Aramco were a country, it would rank as the world's fifth biggest carbon polluter, trailing only behind Russia. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil was identified as the largest investor-owned polluter, with its fossil fuel production leading to 610 million tonnes of CO2, which would place it as the ninth biggest polluter globally, ahead of South Korea.
All 17 state-owned companies in the top 20 are controlled by nations that opposed a proposed fossil fuel phaseout at the Cop30 UN climate summit in December. These countries include Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and India, contrasting with over 80 other nations that had backed the phaseout plan. This political divide highlights significant barriers to achieving global climate targets.
Growing Concentration of Emissions
Emmett Connaire of the thinktank InfluenceMap, who led the report, stated: "Each year, global emissions become increasingly concentrated among a shrinking group of high-emitting producers, while overall production continues to grow." This trend is exacerbated by recent mergers in the oil sector, such as ExxonMobil's acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron's acquisition of Hess, which consolidate production and emissions further.
Since a temporary dip during the Covid-19 pandemic, continued fossil fuel burning has caused carbon emissions to resume their annual rise, reaching record levels each year. Experts warn that emissions would need to fall by 45% by 2030 to meet the Paris agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, a target now widely viewed as unattainable. However, limiting the overshoot remains crucial, as every fraction of a degree of heating intensifies climate impacts on communities worldwide.
Accountability and Legal Implications
The Carbon Majors database has become a vital tool for accountability, underpinning recent analyses that directly link emissions from major fossil fuel companies to deadly heatwaves and trillions of dollars in economic losses from extreme heat. It has also provided evidence in landmark legal cases, such as Lliuya v RWE in Germany, and climate superfund laws in New York and Vermont, which require large fossil fuel firms to fund projects protecting citizens from climate impacts like flooding and extreme heat.
Rebecca Brown, head of the Center for International Environmental Law, commented: "The evidence just keeps mounting. The international court of justice and courts around the world are increasingly connecting the dots between fossil fuel production and climate destruction, making clear that big polluters must phase out fossil fuels and pay up."
Calls for International Cooperation
Tzeporah Berman of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative said: "This latest analysis reinforces a stark reality: a powerful, concentrated group of fossil fuel corporations are not only dominating global emissions but are actively sabotaging climate action and weakening government ambition." The initiative aims to foster international cooperation to halt fossil fuel expansion and facilitate a just transition away from coal, oil, and gas. Berman highlighted an April meeting in Colombia of the 80 countries supporting a fossil fuel phaseout as a critical step toward a sustainable future.
Christiana Figueres, a former UN climate chief, added: "The latest Carbon Majors data shows once again that large emitters are on the wrong side of history. While clean energy and electrification is already receiving nearly twice the investment of fossil fuels globally, carbon majors are clinging on to outdated, polluting products. But data provides a tool for the growing majority who are coming together to champion science-backed solutions and accountability."
In response to the report, Saudi Aramco declined to comment, and ExxonMobil did not respond to requests for comment, reflecting the ongoing tension between these corporate giants and climate advocates.
