32 Fossil Fuel Firms Responsible For Half Of Global CO2 Emissions In 2024

Report shows Africa emits under 4% of global CO2, while 32 firms, led by Aramco and ExxonMobil, drive climate crisis.

Just 32 fossil fuel companies were responsible for half the global carbon dioxide emissions driving the climate crisis in 2024, down from 36 a year earlier, an updated report collated by a think tank, InfluenceMap, has revealed.

But the report showed that Africa was still producing less than 4 per cent of the entire quantum of pollution globally, despite pressure from the West to tame the exploitation of hydrocarbons on the continent.

“Smaller-emitting regions present their own concerns. African and South American companies each contribute less than 4 per cent to global emissions, but Africa saw the highest proportional increase of 4.8 per cent, while in South America, only one of the five assessed companies did not increase emissions,” the report added.

In comparison, Asian companies stood out overwhelmingly, contributing 31.9 per cent of global fossil CO2 emissions, with over 81 per cent coming from coal; European and North American companies shared 15.2 per cent and 11.2 per cent respectively, while firms in the Middle East accounted for 12.9 per cent of global emissions.

Saudi Aramco was the biggest state-controlled polluter and ExxonMobil was the largest investor-owned polluter, the report said, with critics accusing the leading fossil fuel companies of “sabotaging climate action” and “being on the wrong side of history”.

State-owned fossil fuel producers made up 17 of the top 20 emitters in the Carbon Majors report, which the authors said underscored the political barriers to tackling global heating. All 17 are controlled by countries that opposed a proposed fossil fuel phaseout at the Cop30 UN climate summit in December, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and India. More than 80 other nations had backed the phaseout plan.

According to the report, Saudi Aramco was responsible for 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2, much of it from exported oil. If it were a country, Aramco would be the world’s fifth biggest carbon polluter, just behind Russia, the Guardian UK reported .