THE SECRET
CLIMATE KILLERS
Just 100 companies are
responsible for more than
70% of all CO 2 emissions. But
few people realize that there
are other climate killers that
operate under the radar...
WHICH BUILDING MATERIAL
DOES MORE CLIMATE
DAMAGE THAN AVIATION?
W
hen the world is in a building boom,
no other business profits as much as
the concrete industry, and no country
uses more of it than China, which produces
and consumes about 60% of global output.
According to Microsoft founder Bill Gates,
China consumed 6.6 gigatons of concrete
between 2011 and 2013, which is more than
the U.S. used during the entire 20th century.
But this product with its key ingredient of
limestone has a darker side: According to
the BBC, “World cement production in 2016
generated around 2.2 billion tons of CO 2 ,
or 8% of the global total.” That’s twice as
much as the entire global aviation industry.
Nevertheless, the EU allocates emissions
certificates free of charge for concrete in
the belief that the material is irreplaceable,
despite the fact that material such as fiber-
reinforced concrete, for example, is lighter
and drastically reduces CO 2 emissions.
HOW DIRTY IS THE
CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY?
A
t the end of 2018, there were 314 cruise
ships operating worldwide carrying a
total of 26 million annual passengers.
The largest operator is Carnival and all its
subsidiaries, with 103 ships and 12 million
passengers. The problem: Each day a cruise
ship emits as much particulate matter as a
million cars. Marine expert Bill Hemmings
says: “Even when they burn low-sulfur fuel,
these ships are 100 times worse than road
diesel.” Large ships burn at least 150 tons
of fuel per day, emitting more sulfur than
several million cars and the CO 2 of almost
84,000. And: Most cruise ships burn heavy
fuel oil. Generally considered a “worst-case
substance,” it contains 3,500 times more
sulfur than is permitted in diesel fuel. The
Brussels-based Transport & Environment
group says: “Air pollution from international
shipping accounts for approximately 50,000
premature deaths per year in Europe alone,
at an annual cost to society of more than
$65 billion.”
he main culprits when it
comes to causing climate
change are the producers
of electric power and the
oil companies. That’s the
conclusion of the Carbon
Majors Report published
by the non-profit Carbon
Disclosure Project (CDP).
Its database is “the most comprehensive
dataset of historic company greenhouse
gas [GHG] emissions ever compiled,” and
it singles out the responsible companies
by name. Governments should ultimately
be responsible for regulating emissions of
CO 2 in their respective territories, but the
emitters tend to be giant corporations that
are resistant to national regulation.
The report provides a list of targets
for those who are seeking to reduce the
global CO 2 emissions in a meaningful way.
Since 1988—the year the United NationsT
founded the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC)—100 companies
have produced 71% of global emissions
of greenhouse gases. According to the
Carbon Majors Report: “Almost a third
[32%] of emissions come from investor-
owned companies, 59% from state-owned
companies, and 9% come from private
investment.” More than half of emissions
produced since 1988 can be traced to
just 25 state and corporate producers.
The report says the greatest polluters
are: “investor-owned companies such as
ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, Peabody,
Total, and BHP Billiton, and state-owned
entities such as Saudi Aramco, Gazprom,
National Iranian Oil, Coal India, Pemex,
CNPC, and the China National Coal Group.
The operations of the fossil fuel companies
have released more emissions in the last
28 years than the total of the previous 237
years combined.”WHICH COMPANIES
ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR 71% OF ALL
CO 2 EMISSIONS?
ideasanddiscoveries.com 23 May 2020