Sustainable Finance Regulatory Outlook 2025
ClimateArticles, Whitepapers

The Missing GHG Emissions: How Satellite Data Can Quantify the Real Climate Risk of Oil & Gas Companies

Published: July 10, 2024
Modified: April 28, 2025
Key Takeaways
  • Leveraging our collaboration with Climate TRACE, we have analyzed the largest 20 companies in the Oil & Gas industry, quantifying GHG emissions from all physical assets that these companies own, including their minority investments.
  • Our research found that the relative ranking of these companies in terms of carbon intensity is significantly affected by the inclusion or exclusion of the assets they own but don’t operate
  • We have quantified the impact of these “missing emissions” in the carbon footprint of a theoretical portfolio that invests in the largest 20 Oil & Gas companies. The carbon footprint grows by 24% when including the emissions from assets that these companies own but don’t operate.

Less than 10% of companies report Scope 3 investment emissions data

While a growing number of companies disclose sustainability-related information, there are still challenges around data completeness, consistency, and transparency. For example, all publicly traded Oil & Gas companies listed in the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Still, over 90% of these companies do not incorporate the Scope 3 emissions from their investments in their reports.

Leveraging our collaboration with Climate TRACE, we have analyzed the largest 20 companies in the Oil & Gas industry, quantifying GHG emissions from all physical assets, including their minority investments. Our research found that the relative ranking of these companies in terms of carbon intensity is significantly affected by the inclusion or exclusion of the assets they own but don’t operate.

Additionally, we assessed the impact of these “missing emissions” on the carbon footprint of a theoretical portfolio investing in the largest 20 Oil & Gas companies — the carbon footprint increases by 24% when emissions from these assets are included.

Download the report to learn:

  • What oil & gas companies are reporting
  • The issues that unreported data can generate for investors
  • How it is possible to fill the reporting gap with asset-level inventories

Patricia Pina

Head of Product Research & Innovation, Clarity AI

Patricia specializes in measuring sustainability and impact to help companies, governments, and individuals to make more environmentally and socially sustainable decisions. She has extensive experience in supporting financial stakeholders implement sustainable finance strategies. She also has worked crafting strategic plans and evaluating major development initiatives for public and private organizations.

Renato Coelho

Director, Sustainability Research & Innovation, Clarity AI

Renato Coelho leads impact research at Clarity AI, developing methodologies to quantify the societal impact of investors and companies. Recognized as an SDG Pioneer finalist by the UN Global Compact, he brings experience from McKinsey & Co. and Portugal Telecom, with an MBA from IESE and an M.Sc. in AI from UNICAMP.

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