The world’s 25 largest oil and gas companies could pay for climate damage and remain profitable. This is stated in a new report published this Thursday by the international think tank Climate Analytics, which estimates that between 1985 and 2018 these companies They pocketed a total of $30 billion and were forced to pay back $20 billion. for environmental damage caused by emissions. That is, they would have earned about 10 billion dollars.

The top three on the list included three state-owned companies: Aramco (Saudi Arabia), Gazprom (Russia) and National Oil Company (Iran). But there are also companies owned by their investors, such as ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron. The list also includes the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, led by Sultan Al Yaber, who is appointed president of the COP 28 Climate Summit, which begins on November 30 in Dubai.

“After huge profits last year, some of these companies are abandoning their climate commitments, showing that We can’t trust them to do this alone, especially at the pace we need. Governments must step in and tax polluters to make them pay for the loss and damage they cause. And we also need a firm commitment at COP28 to phase out fossil fuels and keep warming to 1.5°C,” said Karl-Friedrich Schleussner, lead author of the report.

He added: “These big oil and gas companies have known about climate change for decades, and however They doubled down on their business model. “They have reaped huge economic benefits while climate change has intensified and left vulnerable people, and developing countries in particular, to foot the bill.”

Record profits in 2022

To calculate the estimated damage, the authors used an interim estimate of the social cost of carbon emissions ($185 per tonne of CO2). Big oil companies are to blame for a third of the damage results, sharing responsibility equally with governments and consumers.

In 2022, energy prices skyrocketed. Financial profits of oil and gas companies reach record levels. Aramco’s CEO said it was “probably the highest net income ever recorded in the business world.”

That same year, profits from seven major coal companies (including Aramco, Exxon Mobil and Shell) nearly doubled the cost of the estimated damage from their emissions. Were $497 billion vs. $260 billionas reported by the authors of the new study.

Self-replicating fossil wealth

The report also analyzes damage to sovereign fundswhich were created mainly by profits from fossil fuel extraction.

The United Arab Emirates, which will host international climate talks at COP 28 this year, is home to the largest pooled sovereign wealth funds. Half of your funds could cover the damage caused by emissions associated with your oil and gas. between 1985 and 2018, and they will still have $700 billion at their disposal. “Since their inception, these funds have grown to such an extent that Clearly, “fossil wealth” is being perpetuated. But another legacy of this wealth is climate destruction,” said Dr. Marina Andrijevic, author of the report.

Last year at COP 27, all governments recognized that a new source of funding for losses and damage was needed. Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, has specifically called for a 10% tax on the profits of oil and gas companies to pay into a loss and damage fund.