Just 90 companies produced two-thirds of all global warming emissions ever

Who is to blame for climate change? Nearly two-thirds of all man-made global warming emissions from 1751 - 2010 can be traced back to just 90 companies, according to a 2013 report in the journal Climatic Change. And 30 percent of emissions were produced by just the top-producing 20.

Of the 90 companies, 50 are investor-owned (Chevron, Exxon, and BP are among the worst offenders), 31 are state-owned companies and nine are government industries.

As the report demonstrates, a relatively small number of companies and individuals hold much of the responsibility for the havoc wrecked on our planet by carbon emissions. And -- surprise, surprise -- several of these highest-emitting companies have funded the climate denial movement. The Guardian reports:

"There are thousands of oil, gas and coal producers in the world," climate researcher and author Richard Heede at the Climate Accountability Institute in Colorado said. "But the decision makers, the CEOs, or the ministers of coal and oil if you narrow it down to just one person, they could all fit on a Greyhound bus or two."

For a deeper dive into the big players in climate change, check out The Guardian’s data visualization:

January 8, 2015 by Katie Rose Quandt

This post first appeared on BillMoyers.com.