Carbon Majors Emissions
Carbon Majors Emissions Data
Carbon Majors is a database of historical production data from 122 of the world’s largest oil, gas, coal, and cement producers. This data is used to quantify the direct operational emissions and emissions from the combustion of marketed products that can be attributed to these entities.
These entities include: 75 Investor-owned Companies, 36 State-owned Companies, 11 Nation States, 82 Oil Producing Entities, 81 Gas Entities, 49 Coal Entities and six Cement Entities. The data spans back to 1854 and contains over 1.42 trillion tonnes of CO2e covering 72% of global fossil fuel and cement emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution in 1751.
This database includes nine different types of commodities, Oil and NGL, Natural Gas, Anthracite Coal, Bituminous Coal, Lignite Coal, Metallurgical Coal, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Thermal Coal, or Cement. And NGL is the abbreviation for natural gas liquid.
This data is obtained from the https://github.com/rfordatascience/tidytuesday and provided by the Carbon Majors.
Research Purpose
We can use this data to quantify the direct operational emissions and emissions from the combustion of marketed products that can be attributed to these entities.
Firstly, by exploring the data, we will have a better understanding of the role of major fossil fuel and cement producers in contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the impact of different types of commodities.
Secondly, this data set enables us to do analysis of trends over time, which is crucial for identifying long-term patterns.
Questions To Answer
Q1: For the most recent surveyed year, list the Top 10 companies that accounted for the largest portion of emissions.
Q2: For the most recent surveyed year, of all the emissions, what percentage of CO2 is emitted by different commodity categories of China (Coal)? (A follow-up question of Q1)
Q3: For the recent 10 years, list the Top 10 companies that accounted for the largest portion of emissions.
Q4: For the recent 10 years, trends in emissions of the three companies from China, China (Coal),China (Cement) and CNPC.
Q5: For the recent 10 years, for the emissions of China (Coal), China (Cement) and CNPC, which kind of commodity has contributed most emissions?
Q6: For the recent 10 years, which type of commodity contribute the most emissions?
Q7: For the recent 10 years, trends in the emissions of different types of commodities globally. (A follow-up questions about Q6)
Q8: For the recent 10 years, trends in emissions by owner_type.
Summary Of Findings
1. China (Coal) has contributed nearly 30% of the world’s emissions over the past decade.
Based on this set of data, over the past decade, China (Coal) has consistently topped the list of emitters, surpassing the combined emissions of the remaining nine companies in the Top 10 ranking, accounting for 29.16% of the global emissions. The figure even rose to 32.57% in 2022.
The reason for the exceptionally high emissions of these two Chinese companies lies precisely in the fact that coal has the lowest energy efficiency among fossil fuels, contributing the highest amount of emissions per unit. The oxidation rate varies among different types of coal when burned, but it is approximately 2.6 tons. One ton of standard coal equivalent (SCE) of petroleum emits roughly 2.1 tons of carbon dioxide, with some variation among gasoline, diesel, and other types. One ton of SCE of natural gas emits approximately 1.6 tons of carbon dioxide.
- Top 10 companies that accounted for the largest portion of emissions over the past decade.
| Companies | Emissions | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| China (Coal)-China | 104353.43 | 29.160054 |
| Saudi Aramco-Saudi Arabia | 18509.27 | 5.172147 |
| Gazprom-Russia | 14118.94 | 3.945333 |
| China (Cement)-China | 11781.50 | 3.292170 |
| Coal India-India | 11500.97 | 3.213779 |
| National Iranian Oil Co.-Iran | 11027.12 | 3.081369 |
| Russian Federation-Russia | 9774.50 | 2.731342 |
| Rosneft-Russia | 7884.38 | 2.203176 |
| CNPC-China | 7106.72 | 1.985870 |
| Abu Dhabi National Oil Company-the United Arab Emirates (UAE) | 6393.33 | 1.786523 |
(CNPC stands for China National Petroleum Corporation.)
The listed 10 countries can be broadly categorized into two main groups.
One is developing countries with rapidly growing industries, such as China and India. These countries have experienced rapid industrial and manufacturing growth in the last decade, which has inevitably led to a significant increase in emissions.
The other is energy-exporting countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, etc..These countries are rich in natural resources such as oil and natural gas, and are important global energy exporters. Saudi Arabia, for example, is one of the world’s largest oil exporters and plays a crucial role in global energy supply. The country’s oil is mainly exported to the United States, China, India and other economic powers, and the oil industry plays an important role in its economic growth.
2. Globally, Oil & NGL has caused the most emissions, followed by Bituminous Coal and Natural Gas.
In terms of the different types of commodities, globally, Oil & NGL has contributed the largest share to the emissions. Natural Gas, although cleaner than some other fossil fuels, also ranks among the top emitters, though its emissions are generally lower compared to Oil & NGL and Bituminous Coal.
In the case of China (Coal), Bituminous Coal’s emissions are much higher than the other categories. The reason for the exceptionally high emissions of these Chinese companies lies precisely in the fact that coal has the lowest energy efficiency among fossil fuels, contributing the highest amount of emissions per unit.
3. Among the three Chinese companies, China (Coal) is the dominant contributor to emissions, with values significantly higher than the other two.
China (Coal) is the largest emitter among the three entities, with a noticeable trend of decreasing emissions until 2016, followed by a consistent increase. Emissions from China (Cement) and CNPC are relatively stable and significantly lower compared to China (Coal).
China (Coal): There is a noticeable decline from 2013 to 2016, reaching a low point of about 9,000 MtCO2e. However, from 2016 onwards, emissions generally increase, peaking at around 12,500 MtCO2e in 2022.
China (Cement): Emissions remain relatively steady over the years, fluctuating slightly between 2,000 and 2,500 MtCO2e.
CNPC: Emissions are consistently lower than the other two entities, staying between 1,000 and 1,500 MtCO2e. The trend is relatively stable with minor fluctuations, similar to China (Cement).
4. Among the three Chinese companies, Bituminous Coal is the largest contributor to emissions.
Coal is a core component of China’s energy structure. China’s fossil energy structure is not an ideal energy system, as it is inefficient due to its heavy reliance on coal, which is inconsistent with the global trend of reducing coal use. In China, coal generates the largest amount of carbon emissions among all energy sources, while Oil & NGL plays a major role in foreign countries. This is the main difference.
China’s reliance on coal as its primary energy source is based on considerations of resource endowment, economics, and energy security, among other factors. However, this energy structure has also brought about a series of environmental and ecological issues, necessitating gradual optimization and adjustment of the energy structure to promote the development of clean energy.
5. State-owned entities and nation states have contributed far more emissions than investor-owned companies.
In terms of parent_type, emissions from investor-owned companies have shown a downward trend over the past decade, while those from the other two types of companies, namely nation states and state-owned entities, have fluctuated but basically increased steadily.
According to the result of Q1 and the dataset, the 10 companies that accounted for the largest portion of emissions over the past decade are either state-owned entities or nation states.
Energy is crucial to national security and economic development. Through nationalization, the government can ensure control and management over critical energy resources. State-owned entities and nation states can better coordinate and manage the development and utilization of natural resources, avoiding overexploitation and environmental damage.
Furthermore, the energy sector often constitutes a significant revenue source for a country. Nationalization can ensure that these revenues are directly used for national development and public services. The government can regulate energy prices to prevent market fluctuations from adversely affecting the economy and consumers. The companies can better engage in long-term planning and investment without being influenced by short-term profit pressures.