The 50 Biggest Greenhouse Gas Emitters in the United States

Which U.S. companies have the biggest carbon footprint and are guilty of releasing the most greenhouse gases into the air? We determined which American companies are the biggest offenders by using data from the Greenhouse 100 Polluters Index, a report by PERI that includes their 2019 greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalent metric tons. The total amount of greenhouse gas emitted from the 50 companies on our list account for nearly a quarter of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions for the year.

Which industries emit the most greenhouse gas? The industrial sectors these 100 companies are a part of include power plants, petroleum and natural gas systems, chemicals, waste, refineries, metals, minerals, and pulp and paper. What is the largest contributor to greenhouse gases? Those in the power plant and petroleum and natural gas sectors seem to contribute the most to these high levels of greenhouse gases. Read on in this visualization from Solar Power Guide to see what companies have the biggest carbon footprint due to their extremely high levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

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Which U.S. Company Emits the Most Greenhouse Gases?

The U.S. company with the highest greenhouse gas emissions is Vistra Energy, which released a carbon dioxide equivalent of 106 million metric tons in 2019, 18% more emissions than Duke Energy, which was found to have emitted the second most metric tons of CO2. Even the United States government needs to work on lessening its carbon footprint, as it ranked sixth on our list, with emissions levels that reached 47.5 million metric tons of CO2.

Vistra Energy is a retail electricity and power generation company based in Texas. They are the U.S.’s largest competitive power generator, with a diverse portfolio that includes natural gas, nuclear, solar, and battery energy storage. The company even owns a power plant that contains the largest battery energy storage system in the world.

The 10 U.S. Companies That Emit the Most Metric Tons of CO2

  1. Vistra Energy: 106,510,086
  2. Duke Energy: 87,140,105
  3. Southern Company: 86,244,286
  4. Berkshire Hathaway: 74,960,726
  5. American Electric Power: 70,044,545
  6. U.S. Government: 47,504,228
  7. Xcel Energy: 46,975,696
  8. Energy Capital Partners: 41,420,489
  9. NextEra Energy: 40,521,250
  10. ExxonMobil: 38,252,969

What Is the United States' Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions Each Year?

The United States greenhouse gas emissions totaled a carbon dioxide equivalent of 6,558 million metric tons in 2019. The 50 companies included on our list together totaled 1,478 million metric tons of CO2, which amounted to 22.5% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2019.

While more than 6 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions may seem like a lot (and it is), the total output has decreased 12% since 2005, which was the year it hit its peak, with emissions numbers reaching more than 7 billion metric tons. We hope to see this number continue to decline as companies across the United States and around the world continue their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ExxonMobil, which was the tenth-largest offender on our list, has detailed ways to reduce their carbon footprint with a goal of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions 15-20% by 2025. What else can some of the biggest polluters in the world do to reduce their carbon footprint?

The 50 Biggest Greenhouse Gas Emitters in the United States

Rank Parent Corporation or Entity 2019 Emissions (CO2 Equivalent in Metric Tons) Industrial Sector(s)
1 Vistra Energy 106,510,086 Power Plants
2 Duke Energy 87,140,105 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Waste, Other
3 Southern Company 86,244,286 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Other
4 Berkshire Hathaway 74,960,726 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Minerals, Metals, Chemicals, Other
5 American Electric Power 70,044,545 Power Plants, Other
6 U.S. Government 47,504,228 Power Plants, Waste, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Chemicals, Other
7 Xcel Energy 46,975,696 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Other
8 Energy Capital Partners 41,420,489 Power Plants, Metals
9 NextEra Energy 40,521,250 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Other
10 ExxonMobil 38,252,969 Refineries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Power Plants, Chemicals, Other
11 NRG Energy 36,806,514 Power Plants, Other
12 Marathon Petroleum 36,405,742 Refineries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Power Plants, Chemicals, Other
13 Entergy 35,760,849 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Other
14 Dominion Energy 35,646,444 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Other
15 Cleveland-Cliffs 32,585,506 Metals, Minerals, Waste, Other
16 DTE Energy 30,551,954 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Metals
17 PPL Corp. 28,493,455 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Other
18 Evergy Inc. 27,620,949 Power Plants, Other
19 ArcLight Capital Partners 26,560,645 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Refineries
20 Phillips 66 26,375,931 Refineries, Power Plants, Chemicals, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Waste, Other
21 Chevron 24,549,906 Refineries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Chemicals, Power Plants, Waste, Other
22 Ameren 24,314,880 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Other
23 Koch Industries

24,237,277

 Chemicals, Pulp and Paper, Refineries, Minerals, Waste, Other
24 Valero Energy 23,474,041 Refineries, Chemicals, Other
25 United States Steel 22,224,821 Metals, Waste, Other
26 WEC Energy Group 22,179,428 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems
27 CF Industries 20,066,539 Chemicals
28 LS Power 19,800,359 Power Plants
29 AES Corp. 19,586,036 Power Plants, Other
30 Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. 18,623,427 Power Plants
31 Blackstone 18,584,285 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems
32 Basin Electric Power Cooperative 18,198,882 Power Plants, Chemicals, Minerals, Other
33 Macquarie 18,158,027 Power Plants, Waste, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Other
34 FirstEnergy 18,050,230 Power Plants, Other
35 Energy Transfer 17,469,106 Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Power Plants, Other
36 CMS Energy 17,391,563 Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Other
37 Royal Dutch Shell 16,504,977 Refineries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Chemicals, Other
38 Waste Management 16,159,383 Waste
39 Dow Inc. 16,126,051 Chemicals, Power Plants, Metals, Waste, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Other
40 BP 15,377,834 Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, Refineries, Power Plants, Chemicals, Other
41 PBF Energy 14,654,623 Refineries, Chemicals, Power Plants, Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems
42 Colstrip Power Plant 14,277,559 Power Plants
43 Plant Scherer 13,764,419 Power Plants
44 Pinnacle West Capital 12,945,950 Power Plants, Other
45 Prairie State Generating 12,737,155 Power Plants, Other
46 Air Products & Chemicals 12,683,848 Chemicals, Power Plants
47 LafargeHolcim 12,567,194 Minerals
48 Lower Colorado River Authority 12,483,976 Power Plants, Other
49 OGE Energy 12,417,783 Power Plants, Other
50 Archer Daniels Midland 12,388,843 Pulp and Paper, Waste, Other

 

Written and designed by Joe Robertson