Scientists can already estimate the damage caused by fossil industry
The largest companies in the world caused climate damage of $ 28,000 million ((25,000 million euros), According to a new study. A research team from the University of Dthmouth calculated the pollution caused by 111 companies. More than half of the total number comes from 10 fossil fuel suppliers: Aramco Saudi, Gazprom, Chevron, Exagunbil, BB, Shell, Iranian National Company, Pimix, Coal India Ya La British Coal Corporation.
The total amount is slightly lower than all goods and services produced in the United States last year. Saudi Aramco and Gazprom, who heads the listEveryone is more than two billion dollars (1.8 billion euros) of the damage to contracts that caused each one, and the reflection was also reflected in the study published last Wednesday in the magazine “Nature”.
The researchers can do so Each percentage of greenhouse gases The export has caused the air since 1990 that caused 502,000 million dollars (441 billion euros) Only in Calu’s damageA, which does not include the costs caused by other meteorological phenomena such as hurricanes, droughts and floods.
The study tries to determine “causal links They lie in many of these responsibilitiesThe main author explains, Christopher Callen, who worked in Dartmouth but is now the Earth’s Systems Scientist at Stanford University.
People talk about paying pollutants, and sometimes they take them to court Or approval of the laws to prevent them. Zero Carbon Analytics caused 68 claims all over the world for damage caused by damage Climate changeMore than half of them in the United States.
“Everyone asks the same question: What can we really claim about who caused this?” Dartmouth said the climate of Justin Mansin, a study company. “This really reduces the thermal dynamic issue If we can track climate risks and/or damage to some gates. “
Is it possible to calculate the effect of a specific company emissions?
The answer is yes, according to Calahan and Mansin. The researchers started with Known final emissions One of the products, such as gasoline or electricity for coal power plants, produced by 111 companies from which carbon emites, which reaches 137 years. This was the maximum, because it is far from its date The company’s emissions and carbon dioxide data in the air remains much longer.
They used 1000 different computer simulations to translate these emissions into changes in Global media temperature From the surface of the earth, and compare them with a world without the emissions of those companies. With this method, He decided to pollute ChevronFor example, the Earth’s temperature was raised at 0.025 ° C.
The researchers also according to the contribution Each company pollution In the five days of the year through 80 other computer simulations Then apply a related formula The intense heat intensity with changes in economic production.
This system follows the applicable technology model that scientists use to attribute to Meteorological phenomena for climate change Extremism Heat wave From the northwest of the Pacific Ocean for the year 2021.
Mansin said that in the past it was discussed: “Who can say that it is my carbon dioxide molecule that contributed to these damage to anything else?” In his opinion, His study “really shows that the veil of reasonable denial There is no longer scientifically. We can really follow the damage to the main gates. “Shell rejected the comment. Aramco, Gazbrom, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and BB did not respond to the comments requests.
“Overwhelming” scientific evidence can help demand the responsibility of the climate
“All the ways you use Frederick Otto, the climate scientist at the Empire College in London, who runs the world, a group of scientists who conduct quick studies to determine if Harsh weather phenomena It has been worsened due to climate change, and if so, it is, to what extent. She did not participate in the study.
“In my opinion, it would be good for this approach to be adopted largely by different groups. As with the chain of transmissionAuto said: “The more groups, the better the science and we will know what is happening and what is not.”
Until now it has not flourished Request for climate responsibility He said that against the great carbon source, but perhaps it shows “the severe hardness of scientific evidence” could change this position. in the past, The damage caused by individual companies Kalhan said he was lost in the noise of data, so they could not calculate it.
“Now we have reached a point in the climatic crisis in it Complete damage It is so huge that the contributions of one company’s product can reach dozens of Billions of dollars per yearChris Field, climate scientist at Stanford University, said he has not participated in the research.
propagandaMichael Man, climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, did not participate in the study, but there are many other climate variables that Kalhan and Mankin have reached. Great reducing damage The companies really caused.
