List of locations and entities by greenhouse gas emissions

This article is a list of locations and entities by greenhouse gas emissions, i.e. the greenhouse gas emissions from companies, activities, and countries on Earth which cause climate change. The relevant greenhouse gases are mainly: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and the fluorinated gases[2] bromofluorocarbon, chlorofluorocarbon, hydrochlorofluorocarbon,[3] hydrofluorocarbon,[4] nitrogen trifluoride,[3] perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.[4]

Emissions attributed to specific power stations around the world, color-coded by type of fuel used at the station. Lower half focuses on Europe and Asia[1]

The extraction and subsequent use of fossil fuels coal, oil and natural gas,[5] as a fuel source, is the largest contributor to global warming.[6]

Carbon dioxide

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Ranked 10 most countries

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During June of 2023, with 12705 million tonnes CO2e produced, China is the largest emitter; United States is second with 6,001, India 3,394, EU (which is 27 countries) 3,383, Russia 2,476, Japan 1,166, Brazil 1,057, Indonesia 1,002, Iran 893, and Canada 736.[7]

Scope 1+3 emissions, cumulative of the years 1988 - 2015, from oil and gas extraction

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This section uses data from [8] a climate accountability[9] report of Heede, van Der Vlugt and Griffin of the Carbon Disclosure Project.[8] While data of emissions "Direct operational" and indirectly caused from the companies surveyed were indicated by the CDP, requests for data which were ignored by companies and emissions resulting from the use of products originating with companies were included as estimates by the researchers.[8] The data used by the CDP scientists is a composite of quantities of emissions as described via the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (GHGPCS): Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions (not including Scope 2) - these three being all the possible Scope-emission types. 1 is direct emissions sources from a companies owned or possessed resources, 3 is indirect sources subsequential from production activities; these are divided by GHGPCS into types: upstream and downstream, and 15 categories.[10] Scope 3 emissions are thought to be approximately 90% of the total from any company and result from the combustion of coal, and, or, oil, and, or, gas during the conversion of these into energy i.e. as fuel; which is categorized as a downstream.[8] The relevant tables below have a ranking of 20 industrial greenhouse gas emitters from 1988 to 2015 from the Carbon Majors Database (CDP)[11] report,[8] a July 10, 2017[12] dataset of GtCO2e.[13]

The table below shows the total combined (cumulative) emissions as a percentage of all emissions. Oil and gas production data was obtained from annual reports from company websites and the SEC (2016). For some state owned enterprises, data was sourced from the ‘Oil & Gas Journal’ (1986-2016) or is estimated from national statistics (EIA 2017, BP 2016, and OPEC 2016):

Rank Company Country Percentage
1 Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco)   Saudi Arabia 4.8%
2 Gazprom OAO   Russia 4.2%
3 National Iranian Oil Co   Iran 2.3%
4 ExxonMobil Corp   United States 2.1%
5 Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex)   Mexico 2.0%
6 Shell plc   United Kingdom 1.8%
7 BP PLC   United Kingdom 1.7%
8 China National Petroleum Corp (PetroChina)   China 1.6%
9 Chevron Corp   United States 1.4%
10 Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA)   Venezuela 1.3%
11 Abu Dhabi National Oil Co   United Arab Emirates 1.2%
12 Kuwait Petroleum Corp   Kuwait 1.0%
13 Total SA   France 1.0%
14 Sonatrach SPA   Algeria 1.0%
15 ConocoPhillips   United States 1.0%
16 Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras)   Brazil 0.8%
17 Nigerian National Petroleum Corp   Nigeria 0.7%
18 Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas)   Malaysia 0.7%
19 Rosneft OAO   Russia 0.7%
20 Lukoil OAO   Russia 0.7%
SUM 32.0%

All cause 1+3 cumulative emissions

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The Guardian newspaper (England, Britain)[14] and Acciona[15] (bracketed); both citing CDP:[8]

Rank Company Country Percentage
1 China (Coal)   China 14.32% (14.3%)
2 Saudi Aramco   Saudi Arabia 4.50% (4.5%)
3 Gazprom   Russia 3.91% (3.9%)
4 National Iranian Oil Company   Iran 2.28% (2.3%)
5 ExxonMobil   United States 1.98% (2.0%)
6 Coal India   India 1.87% (1.9%)
7 Petróleos Mexicanos   Mexico 1.87% (1.9%)
8 Russia (Coal)   Russia 1.86% (1.9%)
9 Shell   United Kingdom 1.67% (1.7%)
10 China National Petroleum Corporation   China 1.56% (1.6%)
11 BP   United Kingdom 1.53%
12 Chevron Corporation   United States 1.31%
13 PDVSA   Venezuela 1.23%
14 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company   United Arab Emirates 1.20%
15 Poland (Coal)   Poland 1.16%
16 Peabody Energy   United States 1.15%
17 Sonatrach   Algeria 1.00%
18 Kuwait Petroleum Corporation   Kuwait 1.00%
19 Total   France 0.95%
20 BHP   Australia 0.91%
SUM 47.2%

Scope 3

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Scope 3 emissions are thought to be approximately 90% of the total from any company (Scope 1) and result from fuel combustion.[8]

Vehicle emissions
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Pickup trucks were found to produce the most emissions in a group of vehicles including SUVs and cars, in a survey reported January 2022.[16] Excluding pickup trucks, the most polluting car type surveyed 2017 is the 2011 - 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee which creates 372 grams per kilometre from the exhaust pipe, the 2007 - 2014 Audi R8 creates 346, thirdly the Chevrolet Camaro 335, the tenth most polluting, the Porsche Macan creates 291.[17]

Home: cooking fuels and technologies
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The World Health Organization considers that during 2018 approximately 3 billion people, which was more than 40% of the 2018 estimated global population, used polluting fuel sources in their residences.[18]

Largest sources Carbon Dioxide (Scope 1)

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This part details most CO2 emissions for the year 2021 using Climate TRACE:[19]

Rank Source Emission (million tonnes)
1 Permian Oil and Gas Field, Texas,   United States 208.61
2 Urengoyskoye   Russia 152.0
3 North of Quebec,   Canada [19] logging operations[20] 126.77
4 Marcellus,   United States, oil and gas field 124.38
5 Bovanenkovskoye,   Russia, oil and gas field 122.69
6 South Pars,   Iran, oil and gas field 118.09
7 Zapolyarnoye,   Russia, oil and gas field 105.41
8 Permian New Mexico,   United States, oil and gas field 93.12

Largest point source (Scope 1)

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This section details production sites at single locations where the most pollution exists or existed in the recent past.

During March 2020, Secunda CTL, owned by Sasol, a synthetic fuel[21] and chemicals from coal [22] plant in Secunda, South Africa, was the producer of the single most emissions, at 56.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year.[21] The Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) of the Government of South Africa determined Sasol has until 1 April 2025 to comply with the legal limits for emissions,[23][24] as described by the Air Quality Act 2004:Part 3; 12; Category 3.[25] Sasol's pledge to reduce it's emissions from the plant by 10% by 2030 was reported during November 2020,[26] during 2023 it was reported that this was amended to 30%.[27]

As of 2021 the gas-fired power plant which emits the most is the Taichung Power Station in Taiwan, with 34.19 million tonnes CO2.[28][19]

Methane

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Sources of anthropogenic production are in the majority:

Carbon bomb projects (new extractions)

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A carbon bomb, or climate bomb,[34] is any new extraction of hydrocarbons from underground whose potential greenhouse gas emissions exceed 1 billion tonnes of CO2 worldwide. In 2022, a study showed that there are 425 fossil fuel extraction projects (coal, oil and gas) with potential CO2 emissions of more than 1 billion tonnes worldwide. The potential emissions from these projects are twice the 1.5°C carbon budget of the Paris Agreement. According to these researchers, defusing carbon bombs should be a priority for climate change mitigation policy.[35]

According to the same study, the Global Energy Monitor and "Banking on Climate Chaos" associations, between 2016 and 2022, the main backers of these climate bombs are the American banks JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Bank of America.[36]

Between 2020 and 2022, at least twenty new "climate bombs" went into operation, reveals an international journalistic investigation.[37][38][36] In this survey, France's TotalEnergies is cited as the second most responsible group for fossil megafields, with a presence at 23 major hydrocarbon extraction sites.[39] In November 2023, China's China Energy will lead the ranking and Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia will complete the podium.[40]

Examples

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Guevara, Marc; Enciso, Santiago; Tena, Carles; Jorba, Oriol; Dellaert, Stijn; Denier van der Gon, Hugo; Pérez García-Pando, Carlos (15 January 2024). "A global catalogue of CO2 emissions and co-emitted species from power plants, including high-resolution vertical and temporal profiles". Earth System Science Data. 16 (1): 337–373. doi:10.5194/essd-16-337-2024. hdl:2117/405068.
  2. ^ "Climate Change Indicators: Major Long-Lived Greenhouse Gases and Their Characteristics". www.epa.gov. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 16 December 2015. Retrieved Jun 14, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "ACS Climate Science Toolkit Greenhouse Gases". www.acs.org. ACS. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "CLEAR Center Clarity and Leadership for Environmental Awareness and Research at UC Davis". clear.ucdavis.edu. University of California, Davis Campus. 20 September 2019. Retrieved Jun 14, 2023.
  5. ^ University of California Museum of Paleontology. "Understanding Global Change – Discover why the climate and environment changes, your place in the Earth system, and paths to a resilient future". ugc.berkeley.edu. University of California. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Causes of Global Warming". wwf.org.au. WWF-Australia. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  7. ^ Friedrich, Johannes; Ge, Mengpin; Pickens, Andrew; Vigna, Leandro (March 2, 2023). "World's Top Emitters Interactive Chart". www.wri.org. World Resources Institute. Retrieved 16 Jun 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Griffin, Dr P. "The Carbon Majors Database CDP Carbon Majors Report 2017 100 fossil fuel producers and nearly 1 trillion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions" (PDF). Retrieved Jun 12, 2023.
  9. ^ Faria, Pedro; Griffin, Dr. P. "CDP foreword - A fresh angle to an old debate" (PDF). www.cdp.net. p. 4. Retrieved Jun 12, 2023.
  10. ^ https://www.climatepartner.com/en/scope-1-2-3-complete-guide https://www.climatepartner.com
  11. ^ Griffin, Dr. P.; Heede, R.; van Der Vlugt, I. "The Carbon Majors Database Methodology Report 2017" (PDF). www.cdp.net. Retrieved Jun 12, 2023.
  12. ^ New report shows just 100 companies are source of over 70% of emissions https://www.cdp.net/ Retrieved Jun 12, 2023.
  13. ^ Griffin, Dr. P.; Heede, R.; van Der Vlugt, I. "The Carbon Majors Database Dataset 1.0 Methodology and Results" (PDF). www.cdp.net. Retrieved Jun 12, 2023.
  14. ^ Riley, Tess (Jul 10, 2017). "Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions, study says". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved Aug 7, 2018.
  15. ^ 100 Companies Are Responsible for 71% of GHG Emissions https://www.acciona.com/
  16. ^ Automotive Industry www.weforum.org Statista Mobility Market Outlook Retrieved Jun 16, 2023
  17. ^ "Car CO2 emissions explained". www.which.co.uk. Which?. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  18. ^ "9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air, but more countries are taking action". www.who.int. World Health Organization. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  19. ^ a b c https://climatetrace.org/map Retrieved Jun 14, 2023
  20. ^ Cloe Logan (2021-11-01) New report shows emissions from Canada's forestry sector are vastly underreported www.nationalobserver.com
  21. ^ a b Sguazzin, Antony (2020-03-17). "The World's Biggest Emitter of Greenhouse Gases". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  22. ^ "10.2.1. Commercial Use of Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis". netl.doe.gov/. National Energy Technology Laboratory. Retrieved Jun 13, 2023.
  23. ^ "Secunda: living in the shadow of the world's biggest carbon polluter". www.news24.com/. City Press, Auckland Park. Retrieved Jun 13, 2023.
  24. ^ "Managing Air Quality Compliance". www.sasol.com. Sasol. Retrieved Jun 13, 2023.
  25. ^ Sonjica, Buyefwa Patience. "Staatskoerant, 31 Maart 2010 No. 33064 3 Government Notice – Department of Environmental Affairs – No. 248 31 March 2010 National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 (Act no. 39 of 2004) List of Activities Which Result in Atmospheric Emissions Which Have or May Have a Significant Detrimental Effect on the Environment, Including Health, Social Conditions, Economic Conditions, Ecological Conditions or Cultural Heritage" (PDF). www.dffe.gov.za/. Republic of South Africa Government.
  26. ^ https://www.energyvoice.com/renewables-energy-transition/ccs/africa-ccs/278257/sasol-carbon-secunda-gas/ https://www.energyvoice.com/
  27. ^ https://www.energyvoice.com/renewables-energy-transition/hydrogen/africa-hydrogen/477652/sasol-signs-up-green-power-at-secunda-sasolburg/ https://www.energyvoice.com/
  28. ^ Freeman Jeremy et al. Power Sector Climate Trace github.com/ p.20 Retrieved Jun 14, 2023
  29. ^ a b Allen, D (19 July 2016). "Attributing Atmospheric Methane to Anthropogenic Emission". Accounts of Chemical Research. 49 (7). USA.gov: 1344–1350. doi:10.1021/acs.accounts.6b00081. PMID 27314507.
  30. ^ luxiao, Xiao Lu; Jacob, Daniel J.; Zhang, Yuzhong; Fan, Shaojia (17 April 2023). "Observation-derived 2010-2019 trends in methane emissions and intensities from US oil and gas fields tied to activity metrics". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 120 (17). National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America: e2217900120. Bibcode:2023PNAS..12017900L. doi:10.1073/pnas.2217900120. PMC 10151460. PMID 37068241.
  31. ^ a b "Home News, Stories & Speeches - story: Climate Action". www.unep.org. United Nations Environmental Programme. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  32. ^ "Enteric fermentation Improving food security and livelihoods by reducing enteric methane emissions". www.ccacoalition.org. Climate and Clean Air Coalition (United Nations). 6 December 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  33. ^ Bogner, Jean; Ahmed, Mohammed Abdelrafie; Diaz, Cristobal; Faaij, Andre; Gao, Qingxian; Hashimoto, Seiji; Mareckova, Katarina; Pipatti, Riitta; Zhang, Tianzhu; Diaz, Luis; Kjeldsen, Peter; Monni, Suvi. "Waste Management" (PDF). www.ipcc.ch. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. p. 588. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  34. ^ "« Bombes carbone » : TotalEnergies, numéro deux mondial des mégagisements fossiles". Le Monde. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  35. ^ Kühne, Kjell; Bartsch, Nils; Tate, Ryan Driskell; Higson, Julia (2022-07-01). ""Carbon Bombs" - Mapping key fossil fuel projects" (PDF). Energy Policy. 166: 112950. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2022.112950. ISSN 0301-4215. S2CID 248756651. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  36. ^ a b Niranjan, Ajit (2023-10-31). "Banks pumped more than $150bn in to companies running 'carbon bomb' projects in 2022". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  37. ^ "Emissions de CO2 : vingt nouvelles « bombes climatiques » exploitées depuis 2020". Le Soir (in French). 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  38. ^ "« Bombes carbone » : ces projets fossiles qui ruinent les efforts pour le climat". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  39. ^ "« Bombes carbone » : TotalEnergies, numéro deux mondial des mégagisements fossiles". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  40. ^ "Les « bombes carbone » qui empirent le dérèglement climatique, une responsabilité partagée entre Etats, entreprises et banques". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  41. ^ "10 major insurers refuse to support Australian 'carbon bomb' coal mine - IEMA". www.iema.net. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  42. ^ "Canada is sitting on 12 'carbon bombs.' Here's where they are". CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  43. ^ Les Amis de la Terre - France; Reclaim Finance (May 2020). "La Place financière de Paris au fond du puits" (PDF). amisdelaterre.org (in French). p. 13-28..
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For "carbon bomb" projects: