In July 2017, the Guardian reported that 100 companies produce 71 percent of global emissions. According to the 2017 Carbon Majors Report by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the emissions include greenhouse gases produced from the processing and the product of these companies.
But what does this mean? How are they contributing to climate change? Let’s put this statistic into context.
Among the five largest companies in the top 100 list are government-owned coal companies in China with 14.32 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, followed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company (4.50 percent), Gazprom OAO (3.91 percent), National Iranian Oil Co (2.28 percent) and ExxonMobil Corp (1.98 percent).
These companies all produce energy we need to keep modern transportation and household appliances running with coal, petroleum and natural gas– but they do so at great cost to the environment.
Let’s look at how these fuels are mined, extracted and produced.
Coals and Environmental Pollution
The extraction, processing, and transporting of coal has numerous negative impacts on the environment. Different greenhouse gases are emitted in each of these production phases.
Read more about coal and environmental pollution.According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), there are two main ways to extract coal: using surface mines or underground mines.
To create surface mines, coal miners have to remove the soil and rock above coal deposits using explosives. This type of mining often causes damage to the landscape and pollutes water streams with explosion debris. Underground mines, by contrast, generally affect the landscape less than surface mines. However, methane gas—one of the major greenhouse gases—in coal deposits can explode in underground mines if it’s concentrated enough.
That is just coal extraction alone.
Before coal can be used to produce electricity, raw coal needs to be processed and refined. RPM Solutions outlines the coal refining process neatly for us. First, the coal is washed in a preparation plant to remove contaminants like rock, ash, sulfur, and other substances. Then, the coal is crushed into smaller pieces. Sometimes, the coal is charred to remove hydrogen and oxygen and further purify it. The coal residues after the cleaning process are then dumped into wastewater ponds that can easily leak into surface and groundwater supplies.
After coal is produced, it has to be transported. Ironically, coal companies transport their coal using vehicles that use combustion engines, such as trucks, trains, and ships. Oftentimes, coal has to travel long distances from where it was processed to where it will be used for combustion.
In order to convert coal into electrical power, it has to go through a process called combustion. This process produces major greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxide (NO2). These greenhouse gases are responsible for trapping heat in the atmosphere and increasing the earth’s temperature.
How Oil & Gas Industries Produce Emissions
Natural gas already contains various types of greenhouse gases. Consequently, the drilling and processing of natural gas lead to the release of greenhouse gases that leads to global warming.
Read more about how oil and gas produce carbon emissions.According to the U.S. Department of Energy, natural gas is composed mostly of greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. Natural gas is normally used to light up fire on gas stoves. Throughout the extraction and processing of natural gas, companies practice flaring and venting.
Flaring is the “controlled combustion of volatile hydrocarbons” while venting is the release of methane into the atmosphere. Flaring often produces various air pollutants such as hydrogen sulfide.
The Petroleum Industry and Carbon Emissions
Petroleum producers have to use greenhouse gases to help turn crude oil into petroleum products such as gasoline. These greenhouse gases are then released into the atmosphere. More greenhouse gases are emitted when the petroleum products are delivered using petroleum-powered vehicles like trucks and trains.
Read more about the petroleum industry and carbon emissions.Petroleum products—gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene, fuel oil and asphalt—are essential to keep our machines running. To produce petroleum, companies have to extract and process crude oil.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as petroleum production continues to mature in a field, crude oil is extracted using enhanced oil recovery techniques (EOR). There are two main types of EOR: thermal and chemical injection EOR. These extraction processes both require the addition of greenhouse gases to help process petroleum. The EOR method contributes to carbon emissions once it vents out the gases.
After crude oil is extracted, it is sent to refineries to be processed. Like the extraction method, the refining process also emits greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
Once the petroleum products are ready, they have to be transported using trucks, trains and ships which all rely on petroleum products themselves to function. Thus, even the transportation of petroleum products itself is also responsible for carbon emissions.
What Can Non-renewable Energy Companies do to Reduce Carbon Emissions?
With carbon emissions increasing and the earth’s temperature rising, non-renewable energy companies are scrambling to reduce their carbon footprint and change their business models. As of now, some companies are using technology to capture most of their carbon emissions. McKinsey & Company suggests ways for oil and gas companies to decarbonize.
To prevent unnecessary leaking of greenhouse gases, companies can use technologies such as leak detection and repair (LDAR) and vapor-recovery units (VRU). Companies should also start using renewable energy to fuel the production process of their products. Another technology that some companies started using was carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) which captures the carbon emissions and stores them for future use. To further decrease carbon emissions, the report suggests that companies increase the use of carbon capture technology.
Aside from making the production process more eco-friendly, non-renewable energy companies can also be creative with their business models. In 2020, Deloitte released a report called Decarbonization Challenge 2030 and listed some practical business strategy suggestions for energy companies.
Many oil and gas companies are shifting their business models to focus more on consumer consumption rather than finding the cheapest production cost to make a profit. For example, an oil and gas company might purchase a retail power provider to offer biofuels bundled with renewable electricity.
Another path is to turn carbon dioxide into a valuable raw material. For example, C2CNT, a Canadian company, is using “molten electrolysis” to transform carbon dioxide directly into carbon nanotubes which are stronger than steel and highly conductive.
What Can We Do to Reduce Carbon Emissions?
Although most of the earth’s carbon emissions come from these companies, we are not entirely guilt-free. As consumers, we rely on the products these companies produce. While we cannot individually make drastic changes to reduce carbon emissions, we can do our part in small ways:
- Track your personal carbon footprint here and evaluate your current lifestyle.
- Save energy! Turn off electricity whenever you are done using it.
- Travel less.
- When traveling, walk or cycle as much as possible. You can also make the habit of using public transportation or carpooling if you need to travel long distances.
- Pay extra to offset carbon when traveling by plane.
- Read more about how you can reduce your carbon footprint:
If each of us reduces our personal carbon footprints, we can collectively bring down the rate of global carbon emissions!
With the help of modern technology and the gift of creative thinking, making sustainable changes are possible. The journey to change may be slow and arduous because the problem of carbon emissions is systemic and multi-faceted. However, we should not lose hope. To protect the earth we live in from more adverse damages, let us do our part in reducing carbon emissions and keep non-renewable energy companies accountable.
