Who’s invested in destroying the planet?

The climate crisis is driven by corporate profit-seeking, as it has been since the first oil booms centuries ago. Research shows that, as of April 2024, 57 companies are responsible for 80% of the world’s CO₂ emissions since the 2016 Paris Agreement.

At Empower, we follow the money to track the companies and investors behind new and existing fossil fuel infrastructure as well as nefarious renewable energy projects. We also explain how greenwashing and false solutions to the climate crisis, which the corporate capture of the State has largely normalized, prevent us from achieving a just renewable energy transition. Our research contributes to and guides diverse campaigns in both the Global North and South, from local struggles against harmful pipelines to global initiatives to reduce carbon. We map out the physical infrastructure and complex investment vehicles that underlie fossil fuel dependence and belie the just transition.

Some examples of our recent projects, which span the globe, include:

• New oil and gas exploration in South America, including liquefied natural gas (LNG)
• Fast-tracked LNG export build-outs in the U.S. and Mexico
• Private equity acquisitions of entire pipeline systems in the Persian Gulf
• Coal and gas-fired power plants in North Africa
• Fossil fuel export infrastructure in Australia

This map shows the concessions of Eni, an Italian energy company, in international waters near Egypt, Palestine, and Israel. It also shows Gaza Marine, one of the largest gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean and whose development is controversial, in international waters near Palestine.

This map shows energy projects in Brazil as of August 2023, including pipelines, fields, and energy infrastructure.

How do we track who’s behind fossil fuel infrastructure?

We start by following the money. Using a range of proprietary databases, as well as open-source and government data from around the world, we reverse engineer and unravel the financial flows enabling fossil fuel projects. Sometimes, we look for specific actors; other times, we identify sector-wide investment trends, and so on.

These investigations lead us to analyze all of the economic inputs and policy decisions upon which the fossil fuel economy relies, such as:

This graphic shows the top companies that lobbied the U.S. Congress for pro-carbon capture legislation. The name of the company and the amount spent are displayed.

Climate financing and false solutions

Our research also covers the growth of green energy financing and its complex considerations. For example, hydrogen fuel and carbon capture and underground storage (CCUS) do not present viable alternatives to fossil fuels. Our research has shown that their biggest promoters are oil and gas companies looking to clean up their image as they pump more fossil fuels — all while risking massive groundwater contamination, ocean acidification, and deadly CO₂ pipeline explosions.

Meanwhile, viable technologies such as wind, solar, and hydropower projects can present problems of their own. Project developers, particularly in the Global South, have committed human rights abuses and assassinations of human rights defenders. When required, we also track down the web of interests behind these crimes to help local advocates and loved ones seek accountability and justice.

This map shows the CO₂ pipeline routes owned by Denbury, which was acquired by Exxon in 2023.

A just transition that prioritizes people and planet

Green developers must respect human rights, including the consultation and consent of affected communities, as well as rigorous environmental impact studies and regulatory compliance. That said, words are cheap and so are rubber-stamped approvals in many jurisdictions. Our research gets to the bottom of the power relations that underlie green infrastructure, because we know that, just like with fossil fuels, following the money is key to understanding whose interests will be protected — and whose will not.

The stakes could not be higher. That’s why we collaborate with front-line social movements, CSOs, and campaigners to dig up information that helps them protect communities and workers during the energy transition and win back our planet from corporate interests.