Going Green was started as a way to help educate the general public about making lifestyle changes to help combat climate change. While it is important to make changes in your life to eliminate single use plastics and cut down on emissions, it is also important to understand where most of the issue comes from.
A tiny fraction of the businesses in the world account for a majority of all global emissions. Cutting down on using straws and plastic bags is important, but it won’t have nearly an impact on the output of these companies every single day.
This is why voting is so important, along with your consumer decisions. If politicians enact policies that force these companies to cut down on their emissions, it will have a drastic effect on the global emission output. If you choose to spend your money on other industries instead of continuing to grow these industries, it will also have a serious impact.
Here is a list of the top 100 contributors:
Top 100 producers and their cumulative greenhouse gas emissions from 1988-2015. Company Percentage of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions. (Source: The Guardian)
1 China (Coal) 14.32%
2 Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) 4.50%
3 Gazprom OAO 3.91%
4 National Iranian Oil Co 2.28%
5 ExxonMobil Corp 1.98%
6 Coal India 1.87%
7 Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) 1.87%
8 Russia (Coal) 1.86%
9 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 1.67%
10 China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) 1.56%
11 BP PLC 1.53%
12 Chevron Corp 1.31%
13 Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) 1.23%
14 Abu Dhabi National Oil Co 1.20%
15 Poland Coal 1.16%
16 Peabody Energy Corp 1.15%
17 Sonatrach SPA 1.00%
18 Kuwait Petroleum Corp 1.00%
19 Total SA 0.95%
20 BHP Billiton Ltd 0.91%
21 ConocoPhillips 0.91%
22 Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) 0.77%
23 Lukoil OAO 0.75%
24 Rio Tinto 0.75%
25 Nigerian National Petroleum Corp 0.72%
26 Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) 0.69%
27 Rosneft OAO 0.65%
28 Arch Coal Inc 0.63%
29 Iraq National Oil Co 0.60%
30 Eni SPA 0.59%
31 Anglo American 0.59%
32 Surgutneftegas OAO 0.57%
33 Alpha Natural Resources Inc 0.54%
34 Qatar Petroleum Corp 0.54%
35 PT Pertamina 0.54%
36 Kazakhstan Coal 0.53%
37 Statoil ASA 0.52%
38 National Oil Corporation of Libya 0.50%
39 Consol Energy Inc 0.50%
40 Ukraine Coal 0.49%
41 RWE AG 0.47%
42 Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd 0.40%
43 Glencore PLC 0.38%
44 TurkmenGaz 0.36%
45 Sasol Ltd 0.35%
46 Repsol SA 0.33%
47 Anadarko Petroleum Corp 0.33%
48 Egyptian General Petroleum Corp 0.31%
49 Petroleum Development Oman LLC 0.31%
50 Czech Republic Coal 0.30%
51 China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) 0.29%
52 China National Offshore Oil Corp Ltd (CNOOC) 0.28%
53 Ecopetrol SA 0.27%
54 Singareni Collieries Company 0.27%
55 Occidental Petroleum Corp 0.26%
56 Sonangol EP 0.26%
57 Tatneft OAO 0.23%
58 North Korea Coal 0.23%
59 Bumi Resources 0.23%
60 Suncor Energy Inc 0.22%
61 Petoro AS 0.21%
62 Devon Energy Corp 0.20%
63 Natural Resource Partners LP 0.19%
64 Marathon Oil Corp 0.19%
65 Vistra Energy 0.19%
66 Encana Corp 0.18%
67 Canadian Natural Resources Ltd 0.17%
68 Hess Corp 0.16%
69 Exxaro Resources Ltd 0.16%
70 YPF SA 0.15%
71 Apache Corp 0.15%
72 Murray Coal 0.15%
73 Alliance Resource Partners LP 0.15%
74 Syrian Petroleum Co 0.15%
75 Novatek OAO 0.14%
76 NACCO Industries Inc 0.13%
77 KazMunayGas 0.13%
78 Adaro Energy PT 0.13%
79 Petroleos del Ecuador 0.12%
80 Inpex Corp 0.12%
81 Kiewit Mining Group 0.12%
82 AP Moller (Maersk) 0.11%
83 Banpu Public Co Ltd 0.11%
84 EOG Resources Inc 0.11%
85 Husky Energy Inc 0.11%
86 Kideco Jaya Agung PT 0.10%
87 Bahrain Petroleum Co (BAPCO) 0.10%
88 Westmoreland Coal Co 0.10%
89 Cloud Peak Energy Inc 0.10%
90 Chesapeake Energy Corp 0.10%
91 Drummond Co 0.09%
92 Teck Resources Ltd 0.09%
93 Turkmennebit 0.07%
94 OMV AG 0.06%
95 Noble Energy Inc 0.06%
96 Murphy Oil Corp 0.06%
97 Berau Coal Energy Tbk PT 0.06%
98 Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk PT 0.05%
99 Indika Energy Tbk PT 0.04%
100 Southwestern Energy Co 0.04%
Those are global companies. Here is some more information about the U.S. emissions. (Source: Environmental Protection Agency) The primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are:
- Transportation (28.9 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – The transportation sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily come from burning fossil fuel for our cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Over 90 percent of the fuel used for transportation is petroleum based, which includes primarily gasoline and diesel.2
- Electricity production (27.5 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – Electricity production generates the second largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 62.9 percent of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas.3
- Industry (22.2 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – Greenhouse gas emissions from industry primarily come from burning fossil fuels for energy, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from certain chemical reactions necessary to produce goods from raw materials.
- Commercial and Residential (11.6 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – Greenhouse gas emissions from businesses and homes arise primarily from fossil fuels burned for heat, the use of certain products that contain greenhouse gases, and the handling of waste.
- Agriculture (9.0 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture come from livestock such as cows, agricultural soils, and rice production.
- Land Use and Forestry (offset of 11.1 percent of 2017 greenhouse gas emissions) – Land areas can act as a sink (absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere) or a source of greenhouse gas emissions. In the United States, since 1990, managed forests and other lands have absorbed more CO2 from the atmosphere than they emit.
It is important to understand the underlying issue of global emissions are major coal, petroleum, and oil are contributing to global emissions. Of that, 90% comes from transportation. This is why public transportation and electric cars are so important. If you can stop spending your money on gas guzzling cars and purchase an electric car, or cut down on driving, it will have a major impact on the world because these companies will have less revenue.
Dylan Welch is the CEO and Host of Going Green, a podcast, website, and social media brand that highlights renewable energy, cleantech, and sustainable news.