In 2024, just over thirty companies affected the global climate more than the entire population of many countries. According to an update of the Carbon Majors database, exactly 32 companies are responsible for more than half of the carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel and cement production. That’s a number that’s down from 36 in 2023, but it’s not good news: it means that emissions are being concentrated on a shrinking pool of large producers, while overall production continues to increase.
The report links 34.7 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases in 2024 to 166 of the largest oil, gas, coal and cement companies, a 0.8 percent increase over 2023. “Each year, global emissions become increasingly concentrated in a shrinking group of high-impact producers, while production continues to grow,” notes Emmett Connaire, senior analyst at InfluenceMap and lead author of the study. It’s a picture that makes it clearer where to take action and, at the same time, more urgent to do so.
The top ten emitters
The composition of the largest emitters is striking: the top 10 emitters are all full or majority publicly controlled companies, and they alone generated 27.6 percent of global fossil fuel-related emissions in 2024. Widening the view, the 70 state-owned companies considered in the analysis produced 54.4 percent of fossil emissions, while 93 privately held companies stop at 23.7 percent. It is not just a matter of numbers, but of governance and national policies: five of the top 10 state-owned companies are Chinese, two are Russian, and the others belong to Saudi Arabia, India and Iran.
Topping the list is Aramco, the Saudi national company, which alone contributed 4.3 percent of global CO2 emissions associated with fossil fuels and cement in 2024. In the transition between 2023 and 2024, the majority of state-owned companies increased their emissions: 38 up, 29 down. In contrast, among privately owned companies, reduction prevails: 54 have recorded a decrease, 39 an increase. Yet their weight remains significant, with names that need no introduction: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and ConocoPhillips lead the pack. Rounding out the Top 10 are Coal India (3.9 percent of global emissions), CHN Energy (3.9), National Iranian Oil Company (3.1), Gazprom (2.7), Jinneng Group (2.6), China Cement (2.4), Rosneft (1.8), CNPC and Shandong Energy (1.7). The first Italian company is 38th: it is Eni, with 0.55 percent of world emissions. Small percentage, but a lot.
New forms of accountability
Historical tracking of corporate emissions is fueling new forms of accountability. In the United States, more than a dozen states have invoked these numbers to support proposals for“climate superfunds“: funds financed by large fossil fuel companies to protect communities from damage already underway, such as extreme heat waves and flooding. The logic is simple: those who have contributed more to the crisis must share more in the costs of adaptation.
The availability of detailed data is also crucial for climate attribution, that discipline that quantifies the link between individual events or trends and specific emission sources. A study published in Nature in September 2025 estimated that so-called“carbon majors” contributed half of the increase in heat wave intensity compared to the period 1850-1900. This is not only a widespread responsibility, it is a measurable one.
