Engadget finds ‘obvious’ solution to climate change — but they just misunderstood their whole source material
April 8, 2024
Engadget reports that only 57 companies are responsible for 80 of climate change. So, great, it’s real easy to deal with climate change – kill those 57, right?
Sadly, Engadget has – we assume in error, but who knows – misunderstood the report they’re quoting. The headline:
Only 57 companies produced 80 percent of global carbon dioxide
That’s not true, not in the slightest. No, really, it just isn’t true that only 57 companies produced 80% of carbon dioxide emissions.
Last year was the hottest on record and the Earth is headed towards a global warming of 2.7 degrees, yet top fossil fuel and cement producers show a disregard for climate change and actively make things worse. A new Carbon Majors Database report found that just 57 companies were responsible for 80 percent of the global carbon dioxide emissions between 2016 and 2022. Thirty-eight percent of total emissions during this period came from nation-states, 37 percent from state-owned entities and 25 percent from investor-owned companies.
Again, that’s simply not true. But more than that, it’s not even what the report they purport to be quoting says.
That Engadget’s reporting is worse than that of The Guardian is not something that reflects well upon Engadget:
A mere 57 oil, gas, coal and cement producers are directly linked to 80%
Ah, directly linked to? So, how linked to? From the report itself:
This data is used to quantify the direct production-linked operational emissions and emissions from the combustion of marketed products that can be attributed to these entities.
No, 57 companies did not produce 80% of emissions. Fifty-seven companies produced things which made emission when they were used by other people. These are two wildly different statements.
If it was just the 57 then climate change would be an easy problem to solve. Note that we’re entirely ignoring whether it is a problem isn’t or whatever here. The logic we’re pointing to is true whatever anyone’s view of climate change itself. It’s not the companies that are the problem, it’s us 8 billion out here using the products that create the emissions.
What the report says is that- just to use an example – an oil company is connected to the emissions from the oil company itself ans also to the emissions from people who use gasoline, diesel, heating oil and so on.
Connected, yes, obviously enough. Engadget takes it that one step further into untruth: are responsible for.
This is dangerous. For if we all – or those who read Engadget – think that the problem can be solved just by dealing with 57 companies then we’ll – they’ll – think it’s simple. But it isn’t. For the people responsible for the emissions from the use of gasoline are those who use gasoline. And it’s going to be much, much, more difficult to change the behaviour of billions than it is to deal with only 57 companies.
Yes, we know, this is a little odd, they’re making dealing with climate change look too easy. But it’s bad reporting that’s doing that. It simply isn’t true that some group of companies are responsible for global emissions. People are and that’s what makes the whole thing difficult – it’s people’s behavior that has to change, not that of some handful of companies. Something that might, you know, face some pushback?