What is the price of a hotter planet? ♻️

What if you could send the world’s biggest oil companies a bill for climate change?

Turns out, now you can.
A landmark study has just put a price tag on something long considered incalculable: the damage caused by fossil fuel giants. We’re talking trillions of dollars in losses—health, agriculture, infrastructure—directly linked to emissions from specific companies.

If you’re putting your money where your values are, this is the article you’ll want to read.

The numbers🌱

A peer-reviewed study published in Nature (2024) calculated the climate-related economic damages from emissions traced to 21 major fossil fuel producers between 1988 and 2022. The numbers are staggering:

• ExxonMobil: over $500 billion in estimated climate damages

• Chevron, BP, Shell, and Saudi Aramco: each above $400 billion

• In total, the damages exceed $5.4 trillion

The authors used a climate model known as the social cost of carbon—a metric used by governments to estimate the economic harm of each ton of CO₂. By combining this with historical emissions data, they traced billions in damage to individual corporations.

🧾 This is the first time science has provided a legally robust, company-specific estimate of economic responsibility for global warming.

Looking ahead

If you're an investor, this is a flashing neon sign: the era of climate accountability is here.

• Litigation risk: Fossil fuel stocks may now carry legal liabilities worth hundreds of billions.

• Reputational fallout: ESG ratings could tank. Institutions might divest.

• Opportunity: Renewables and climate-adaptive technologies will look increasingly attractive—not just morally, but financially.

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