The Debate Over Big Oil's Role in Climate Change

Yahoo

24-02-2025

Some believe that 'Big Oil' should be held financially accountable for climate-related disasters, such as California's wildfires. Their rationale? Major oil and gas companies are profitable and have contributed significantly to atmospheric carbon emissions.
A recent press release—'Chevron & Exxon could easily cover LA wildfire damages'—claimed that 'mega-rich oil firms like Chevron and Exxon are knowingly driving and profiting from the climate crisis.'
Two California lawmakers have even introduced legislation to enable lawsuits against these companies. But do these claims hold up under scrutiny?
'Big Oil' typically refers to the five largest integrated supermajor oil companies: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies. Their combined production in 2023 was:
ExxonMobil: 2.4 million barrels of oil/day, 7.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas/day
Chevron: 1.5 million barrels of oil/day, 7.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas/day
TotalEnergies: 1.55 million barrels of oil/day, 6.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas/day
Shell: 1.39 million barrels of oil/day, 9.73 billion cubic feet of natural gas/day
BP: 1 million barrels of oil/day, 6.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas/day
Using standard emissions factors (0.43 metric tons of CO? per barrel of oil and 0.0547 metric tons per thousand cubic feet of natural gas), the total annual CO? emissions from their products amounted to 1.99 billion metric tons in 2023.
Total global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry in 2023 were approximately 37 billion metric tons. That means Big Oil accounted for just 5.4% of global CO? emissions.
Moreover, fossil fuel combustion as a whole contributed 87% of global emissions, with oil and natural gas responsible for about 60% of those emissions. The remaining 40% came from coal—a fuel that oil companies do not generally produce.
To argue that Big Oil should be held primarily responsible for climate-related disasters, one must accept three questionable premises:
Companies responsible for just 5.4% of total emissions should bear the bulk of the blame, while ignoring other major contributors, including coal producers and nationalized oil companies.
Producers, not consumers, are responsible for emissions. Oil companies extract and refine fossil fuels, but consumers—individuals, businesses, and governments—burn them (while deriving benefit from doing so).
A handful of Western corporations should be punished despite accounting for only a fraction of global fossil fuel production. The vast majority of oil and gas production comes from national oil companies, such as those in Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China.
According to the Statistical Review of World Energy, the U.S. was responsible for 13.2% of global fossil fuel emissions in 2023. When accounting for all the carbon dioxide emissions of the past 60 years—before Asia-Pacific's rapid industrialization—the U.S. share rises to 24.5%. Even if one were to irrationally blame oil companies alone, their share of total emissions is a small fraction of that number.
Blaming oil companies for climate change ignores an inconvenient truth: we are all responsible. Every country, company, and individual who uses fossil fuels contributes to carbon emissions. A transition to cleaner energy will require coordinated global efforts, not selective punishment of a handful of Western firms.
Even if you believe Big Oil misled the public, the broader scientific and policy communities were never dependent on oil executives for climate science. The potential consequences of rising CO? levels were well-documented in scientific literature long before climate lawsuits became a political tool.
If lawsuits against oil companies are justified, then logically, every consumer, airline, shipping company, and government that relied on fossil fuels for economic growth should be held accountable. The state of California profited enormously over the past 100 years from fossil fuel extraction. But such an approach would be impractical and economically disastrous.
Suing oil companies won't slow carbon emissions. It may score political points, but it does nothing to address the underlying issue. Instead of lawsuits, we need practical solutions that recognize the shared responsibility of producers, consumers, and policymakers alike.
By Robert Rapier
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