I’m not saying the companies on that list are blameless paragons of virtue, shaking their heads and doing whatever the ignorant masses ask for.
But they are not the problem. They’ve done some shitty things that have contributed to global warming (like the lobbying you mention) but that is not the reason for global warming. We are.
Did you read my post, just prior to yours?
Saying that “we are the problem” is a rather pointless truism. The practical question is not what the problem is – we all know what it is – but what the solution is. And as I said, the solution has relatively little to do with individual actions and everything to do with large-scale national and international global policies addressing the two-pronged challenges of mitigation and adaptation. These are monumental challenges that have nothing to do with whether I recycle a tin can or drive a more fuel-efficient or electric car.
These “100 companies” are directly responsible for the unwillingness of self-serving politicians to challenge their comfortable lies and enact meaningful policies towards those two goals, policies that should have been in place decades ago. I think @Stranger_On_A_Train is right – we are very likely on a trajectory toward the higher of the RCP pathways, perilously close to the “business as usual – don’t give a shit” pathway. And neither you nor I are personally to blame – the blame likes squarely with the purveyors of climate denialism in the sole interest of maximizing profit.
I have not seen and would attach little credence to such specific numbers. But since some companies are massive it is not a stretch to say the top 100 or 500 are responsible for X%, where this is a very sizeable number. This might include things too distant to be fairly included, such as blaming a carmaker for use of their product by all other people or one food manufacturer for all agricultural practices. But this does not imply no power to partially improve things.
It is fair to acknowledge climate issues and take them seriously given the risks. It is obvious some industries and companies do a better job than others in this regard, take it more seriously, research and apply alternatives more effectively, do more than mere talk or nothing, or don’t fund shoddy research and shady groups with little public interest in mind. It is not true better ways of doing things cannot also be profitable.
Yes, we are.
But it is undeniable that those companies are doing their damnest to influence our collective course for the worse. And they wield a lot of power. They are not afraid to shamelessly manipulate public opinion, bankroll climate deniers, lobby for enormous subsidies for fossil fuels, frustrate meaningful regulation for shipping and air travel, lobby for endless exceptions for livestock, plastic waste and other crap.
To say we would be on roughly the same course without they influence is denying the work of thousands of lobbyists, billions in advertising and all the other crap these companies are pulling.