Top 20 private equity firms' emissions rival major nations

A report by the Private Equity Climate Risks Consortium reveals that the energy portfolios of the world’s 20 largest private equity firms produce approximately 1.5 billion tons of greenhouse gases annually. This volume of emissions exceeds that of almost every country on Earth, surpassed only by China, the United States, India, and Russia.

These firms, which collectively manage $7.3 trillion in assets, support at least 244 energy companies. Their holdings include hundreds of oil and gas fields, 15,000 miles of pipelines, and 124GW of power generation capacity across 370 fossil fuel-powered plants. The report notes that private equity is increasingly involved in providing electricity to data centers through fossil fuel assets.

Despite the common perception that fossil fuel investments are highly lucrative, the study found that 145 analyzed oil and gas funds yielded a profit of only about 1% between 2001 and 2016. The research, conducted by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP), Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF), and Global Energy Monitor (GEM), highlights the opaque nature of the industry and its significant impact on the global transition away from fossil fuels.