Just 57 companies are responsible for 80 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report released by UK-based think tank InfluenceMap.
State-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco has produced the most carbon emissions since the Paris Agreement, making up 4.8 per cent of global emissions. "The main objective of the database is really to be an accountability tool, holding these entities to account for the products that they've produced, which are the foremost contributor to global climate change," he said.Four Australian companies are included in the database: BHP, Woodside, Santos and Whitehaven Coal. Three of them increased emissions since 2016, according to the research, however it noted that BHP had a "significant" decrease in emissions.
"But also it can be used by investors in the companies or by campaign groups looking to pressure these companies."