A Recommended Methodology for Estimating and Reporting the Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fossil Fuel Reserves

The document argues that the potential emissions from reserves held by the 200 largest public fossil fuel companies (at least 1,541 GtCO2) significantly exceed the remaining global carbon budget for a 2°C temperature rise (986 GtCO2). It identifies a gap in current reporting, noting that financial standards focus on reserve size while GHG standards focus on historical emissions. To address this, the paper recommends a methodology using the Petroleum Resource Management System and the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards to quantify reserves, adding internal fuel use and losses from flaring, venting, and fugitive activities, and excluding projected carbon storage from CCS projects.

• The potential CO2 emissions from the reserves of the 200 largest public companies, estimated at at least 1,541 GtCO2, exceed the global emissions budget of 986 GtCO2 required to limit temperature rise to 2°C between 2011 and 2100.
• Current corporate reporting is insufficient because financial and industry management standards prioritize reserve size over GHG emissions, while GHG reporting standards focus on historical emissions rather than the material impact of future reserves.
• The recommended methodology for estimating potential emissions suggests using the Petroleum Resource Management System for oil and gas and the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards for coal, while incorporating internal operational fuel use and losses from flaring, venting, and fugitive activities.
• The proposed reporting framework explicitly advises against accounting for projected carbon storage from carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects and requires the separate reporting of emissions from proven and probable reserves.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). A Recommended Methodology for Estimating and Reporting the Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fossil Fuel Reserves. https://www.wri.org/research/recommended-methodology-estimating-and-reporting-potential-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fossil

Chicago

World Resources Institute. A Recommended Methodology for Estimating and Reporting the Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fossil Fuel Reserves. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/recommended-methodology-estimating-and-reporting-potential-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fossil.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=A Recommended Methodology for Estimating and Reporting the Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fossil Fuel Reserves |url=https://www.wri.org/research/recommended-methodology-estimating-and-reporting-potential-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fossil |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendrecommended, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{A Recommended Methodology for Estimating and Reporting the Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fossil Fuel Reserves}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/recommended-methodology-estimating-and-reporting-potential-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fossil}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }