London - Europe's top oil and gas companies urged governments around the world to introduce a global pricing system for carbon emissions on Monday, as governments meet in Bonn, Germany, to work on a UN deal to fight climate change.
Thirty-two energy companies led by Russia's Gazprom accounted for almost a third of all man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2013 if the burning of all the coal, oil and gas they produce is taken into account, a study by information provider Thomson Reuters and global sustainability consultancy BDS Consultancy showed last month.
Emissions from the use of a company's products are usually excluded from corporate carbon accounts, which are based on emissions during operations, because they are outside firms' control.
Below are the top 20 of these emitters in descending order, based on the most recent available data from 2013. All figures have been rounded up to the nearest whole number.
According to the report: "When total GHG emissions from the operations and use of the products from these 32 energy companies are analyzed, we find that 31% of GHG emitted globally, on an annual basis, comes from these companies and humanity’s use of their products".
Three of the the top 20 companies are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Global 500 Greenhouse Gas Report