Infographic: Countries Industries and Corporations Cumulative GHG Contributions

New research provides a cumulative summary of the nations and industries that are responsible for climate change causing greenhouse gases (GHGs). Richard Heede is a scientist who has studied historic cumulative carbon emissions from 90 carbon producers. His research has been published in a paper called "Tracing anthropogenic carbon dioxide and methane emissions to fossil fuel and cement producers, 1854-2010." This peer reviewed study has been published in the journal Climatic Change.

No one should be surprised to find that the industries generating the most GHGs and therefore most responsible for climate change are oil, natural gas, coal, and cement. According to the data, 90 carbon major entities (CMEs) are responsible for an estimated 914 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) of cumulative world emissions of industrial CO2 and methane between 1854 and 2010. That is equivalent to 63 percent of estimated global industrial emissions of CO2 and methane. Fossil fuel producers are by far the largest contributors with 83 organizations represented in the oil, natural gas, and coal sectors plus seven cement manufacturers.

This research provides a summary of the cumulative carbon pollution each nation has contributed to date. Here is the geographic breakdown of the locations of the 50 largest GHG contributing investor owned companies:

United States 21
Europe 17 (five in the UK, three in Germany, two in France, Italy and Switzerland respectively and one the Netherlands, Spain, Austria respectively)
Canada 6
Russia 2
Australia, Japan, Mexico, South Africa all have 1