Oil giants tied to 1998 India heatwave—Chevron, ExxonMobil, Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, and BP—contributed to a 0.08°C increase in the severity of the five warmest days during the country’s deadliest heatwave in 50 years, according to new research published in Nature.

Chevron alone caused $1.9 billion in economic damages during the 1998 heatwave, according to the research. By raising the intensity of the five warmest days by 0.11°C, 0.27°C, and 0.09°C, respectively, the same firms were also connected to the heatwaves that occurred in France in 2003, Russia in 2010, and the United States in 2012. Chevron was believed to have contributed $3 billion, $2.8 billion, and $28.8 billion to the damages incurred in those incidents.

It was discovered that the combined CO₂ emissions by Saudi Aramco, Chevron, and ExxonMobil between 1920 and 2020 were 16.6, 14.2, and 13.2 gigatonnes, respectively.

Tracing Emissions to Climate Damages with a Legal Lens

To compare present climatic realities with scenarios that exclude heat-trapping gases released by specific industries, researchers at Dartmouth College developed a tool that integrates climate modelling with public emissions data. This technique enables scientists to explicitly link corporate emissions to financial losses, a significant development that may impact current and future climate liability lawsuits. The study, which shows oil giants tied to the 1998 India heatwave, and how specific events can now be attributed to the actions of major fossil fuel companies.

The report notes that since 2017, more than 100 lawsuits have been filed about climate change. According to researchers, judicial institutions are turning into a haven for those seeking accountability when severe occurrences worsen and political action lags. However, they cautioned that courts are not well-equipped to handle this expected increase in climate-related lawsuits.

Regardless of the alleged advantages of fossil fuels, Christopher W. Callahan of Dartmouth has stated that fossil fuel businesses should be held liable for climate-related damages, just as pharmaceutical companies are for the adverse impacts of their products.

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Top Emitters Tied to Trillions in Global Economic Losses

Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and BP were the top five polluters, according to the report. The projected worldwide economic losses resulting from excessive heat caused by these firms were $2.05 trillion, $2 trillion, $1.98 trillion, $1.91 trillion, and $1.45 trillion, respectively. Together, state-owned and investor-owned businesses are responsible for losses totalling over $14 trillion worldwide.

Researchers discovered that if there were no heat from 111 large carbon polluters, the world economy would be $28 trillion wealthier. The top five companies alone are responsible for $9 trillion of the losses. Extreme heat has reduced GDP per capita by more than 1 per cent annually in regions such as South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. In contrast, the consequences have been less severe in the U.S. and Europe.

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