GNV News, May 4, 2025

On April 23, 2025, according to new research published in the journal Nature, the world’s top 111 fossil fuel companies have caused an estimated US$28 trillion in climate-related damages over roughly the past 30 years. The study finds that the top 10 fossil fuel companies—including Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Saudi Aramco—account for half of these losses. The research suggests that specific climate damages can be traced back to the greenhouse gas emissions of individual fossil fuel companies, providing a scientific basis for accountability.

To date, in relation to issues such as climate damages, false advertising, and greenwashing, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed to hold companies and industry associations accountable. However, because it has been difficult to prove a concrete causal relationship between corporate activities and climate change, many lawsuits and other accountability efforts have been thwarted. This new research, however, makes it possible to quantitatively attribute climate change damages based on companies’ specific greenhouse gas emissions.

This provides a scientific basis for more appropriately assessing claims for compensation for losses and disruptions attributable to human-induced climate change. In particular, many of these damages are concentrated in countries of the Global South, which, despite having little responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, are heavily affected by extreme weather and economic losses. From the perspective of climate justice, there is a growing demand to hold companies accountable, and this could have a major impact on future lawsuits and accountability efforts.

Learn more about climate change and reporting → “The reality of exceeding 1.5°C: global climate issues, responses, and Japanese media coverage”
Learn more about climate change and legal responsibility → “A major step on climate change: Taking the issue to the ICJ”

(Photo: Adam Cohn / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] )