Private Equity Propels the Climate Crisis

The report analyzes the energy portfolios of ten major private equity firms, finding that 80% of their energy assets are in fossil fuels. It highlights that these investments often yield low returns and disproportionately impact communities of color, while the industry's private nature allows these activities to avoid the public scrutiny faced by publicly traded oil majors.

• Private equity firms have invested approximately $1.1 trillion into energy assets since 2010, a sum that is double the combined market value of Exxon, Chevron, and Royal Dutch Shell.
• Among the ten largest private equity managers examined, fossil fuel assets dominate energy holdings, accounting for 80% of assets compared to 20% in renewables.
• Fossil fuel transactions by these firms are significantly larger than renewable deals; the average fossil fuel deal was approximately $880 million, while the average renewable deal was around $397 million.
• Energy-focused funds from several major buyout firms, including Ares, Apollo, KKR, and Carlyle, have posted negative returns, with oil- and gas-focused strategies generally lagging buyout firms by about five percentage points.
• Fossil fuel infrastructure owned by private equity firms disproportionately affects communities of color: 64% of the population near Blackstone Group's GHG emitting facilities, 66% near Arclight Capital's, and 60% near Ares Management's are people of color.
• Private equity firms are acquiring fossil fuel assets from publicly traded oil majors and state-owned producers in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, effectively shifting dirty energy assets into less scrutinized private markets.
• Specific high-impact projects include Blackstone's acquisition of Tallgrass Energy, which is developing a Louisiana oil export terminal that would emit over 500,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually and be built over a historic graveyard for enslaved people.

APA

Giachino, A., & Mehta-Neugebauer, R. (2021). Private Equity Propels the Climate Crisis. Private Equity Stakeholder Project. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PESP_SpecialReport_ClimateCrisis_Oct2021_Final.pdf

Chicago

Giachino, Alyssa, and Riddhi Mehta-Neugebauer. Private Equity Propels the Climate Crisis. Private Equity Stakeholder Project, 2021. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PESP_SpecialReport_ClimateCrisis_Oct2021_Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Giachino |first1=Alyssa |last2=Mehta-Neugebauer |first2=Riddhi |title=Private Equity Propels the Climate Crisis |publisher=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |date=October 2021 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PESP_SpecialReport_ClimateCrisis_Oct2021_Final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{giachino2021private, author = {Giachino, Alyssa and Mehta-Neugebauer, Riddhi}, title = {{Private Equity Propels the Climate Crisis}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PESP_SpecialReport_ClimateCrisis_Oct2021_Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }