The operational standard for divesting and being fossil fuel free.
Screening more than:
Tracking more than:
Ranking more than:
Updating in Q2 2022:
The Carbon Underground Rankings
Globally recognized as the screening standard for being fossil free, The Carbon Underground 200 identifies the top 200 global publicly-listed coal, oil, and gas reserves owners ranked by the carbon emissions embedded in their reserves.
Tracking more than 600 companies, The Carbon Underground 450 identifies the world’s publicly-listed owners of producible coal, oil and gas reserves ranked by the carbon emissions embedded in their reserves.
Coal 100
The Carbon Underground Coal 100 covers 98% of reported proven and probable coal reserves owned by publicly-listed companies.
Oil & Gas 100
The Carbon Underground Oil and Gas 100 covers 98% of reported proven gas reserves and 97% of proven oil reserves held by publicly-listed companies.
Based on Q4 2021 update of The Carbon Underground 200
The Carbon Underground Heavy Carbons
Thermal Coal 100
The Carbon Underground Thermal Coal 100 ranks the top publicly-listed owners of bituminous thermal coal by potential carbon emissions embedded in their reserves.
Tar Sands 20
The Carbon Underground Tar Sands 20 ranks the top publicly-listed owners of oil sands by potential carbon emissions embedded in their reserves.
Towards Net Zero: The Carbon Underground Transition Research
Creating The Carbon Underground 200
Genesis of a Fossil Free Standard
FFI Solutions was founded in 2013 with the mission to kickstart the development of fossil free investment products.
As part of the “Unburnable Carbon” analysis published in 2011, the Carbon Tracker Initiative identified the original top 200 fossil fuel reserves owners. Adopting this top 200 list, 350.org kicked off a fossil fuel divestment campaign in November 2012.
FFI Solutions picked up where Carbon Tracker left off and launched The Carbon Underground 200 in 2014. The list transformed into an operational element of what is now a global campaign aimed at encouraging university endowments and foundations, pension funds, NGOs, and individual investors to divest from the top 200 public companies owning fossil fuel reserves.
The Carbon Underground 200 is the cornerstone of our activity at FFI Solutions. As the fossil fuel reserves ownership landscape continues to evolve, monitoring the top 200 companies is essential. FFI Solutions has created a systematic process for updating the ranking on an ongoing basis.
Today, The Carbon Underground 200 rankings are an essential screening tool for removing reserves-based CO2 emissions from investor portfolios and for offering carbon-responsible investment solutions. Our CU200 data services help automate processes for fulfilling exclusionary mandates and screening investment products.
Methodology Highlights
- Updated quarterly and released 15-20 days after the calendar quarter end
- Rankings based on calculated carbon emissions data using most recent reported reserves as of calendar quarter end
- Rankings adjusted based on company mergers and acquisitions, and on the most recent reserve reports
- Reserves data sourced from internationally recognized data providers, official company filings and publicly available information
- Coal reserves type classification: anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite
- Coal reserves use classification: thermal, metallurgical, and PCI
- Petroleum reserves classification: oil, natural gas liquids, oil sands, and gas
- Coal reserves reported as the sum of proven and probable reserves
- Coal reserves allocated to publicly-listed companies based on reported percentage ownership of individual mines
- Oil and gas reserves reported as proven (1P) reserves, net of royalty payments
- CO2 emissions calculations based on latest IPCC guidelines
- Follow the Meinshausen approach from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
- Calculations use IPCC carbon content factors assigned based on reserve type
- Reserves figures converted into gigagrams using average factors specific to each type of fossil fuel
REQUEST The Carbon Underground 200TM Rankings
The dynamics of the energy transition necessitate constant tracking of fossil fuel owners. FFI updates The Carbon Underground 200 quarterly to reflect ongoing mergers, acquisitions and shifting ownership of fossil reserves globally. Our subscription services deliver updated rankings and emissions, corporate actions, and active equity reference data on all CU200 companies.
Select organizations including institutional investors, not-for-profits, and the media may request a lagged and limited version of The Carbon Underground 200. This version is for reference and research purposes and can only be used for non-commercial purposes, as outlined in our Terms of Use.
We invite asset managers, advisors and institutional investors to contact us for detailed information and subscription fees of The Carbon Underground 200.
Get more information. Download The Carbon Underground Research & Data Factsheet.