Who is responsible for climate change?

The document asserts that 90 entities, including 50 investor-owned companies, are responsible for 63% of industrial CO2 and methane emissions since 1751. It argues that these companies ignored scientific warnings as early as 1988 and actively worked to discredit climate science. The author calls for these producers to stop disinformation, disclose financial risks, support the 2°C warming target, and pay for climate-related damages.

• A small group of 90 entities has produced the fossil energy responsible for 63 percent of the world's industrial emissions of CO2 and methane since 1751, with 50 of these being investor-owned companies such as Shell, Peabody, and Chevron.
• More than half of all industrial CO2 emissions since the Industrial Revolution have been released since 1988, a year by which fossil fuel companies should have recognized the harm of their products following testimony by James Hansen to the U.S. Congress.
• Major fossil fuel companies have responded to scientific evidence by attempting to discredit scientists, denying the significance of climate change, and lobbying against policies that would facilitate a transition to low-carbon energy.
• The document proposes five specific accountability measures for industrial carbon producers: stopping climate disinformation, ending misleading advertising about renewables, disclosing climate-related financial and physical risks to shareholders, supporting the 2°C global temperature target, and paying for climate-related damages and adaptation.
• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) uses a nation-based framework to distinguish "common, but differ-entiated responsibilities," placing the greatest responsibility on industrialized nations based on their historic emissions.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2014). Who is responsible for climate change? https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/04/climate-responsibilities-of-industrial-carbon-producers.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Who is responsible for climate change? 2014. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/04/climate-responsibilities-of-industrial-carbon-producers.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Who is responsible for climate change? |date=December 2014 |url=https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/04/climate-responsibilities-of-industrial-carbon-producers.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2014who, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Who is responsible for climate change?}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2014}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/04/climate-responsibilities-of-industrial-carbon-producers.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }