Posted on 9 August 2026 by BaerbelW

In April 2026 we published a guest blog post by John Lang in which he introduced his "Climate Trunk" graphics project and website. Since then, he has been adding one graphic per week and plans to keep going for about 2 years rounding out the big picture of human-caused climate change graphic by graphic. In this blog post we'll show-case the graphics related to political economy and will keep adding more as they get published.

How interests, incumbents and competing priorities shape the speed of the transition.

#5 - The New Energy Calculus

The pursuit of clean energy is no longer climate policy. It is increasingly a strategy for security, affordability, development, sovereignty and lower import bills – reshaping how governments think about energy and national interest.

From three to six

#6 - But we are less than 1% - Emissions

No country is too small to matter. Nations that each emit around 1% of global CO₂ may look negligible on their own, but together they produce about 30% of the total – roughly as much as China – so if they sit it out, the maths doesn’t stack up.

Climate change is a global collective action problem. There are no neglibile emitters.

#7 - But we are less than 1% - Consumption

No country is too small to matter. Even after emissions embedded in trade are reassigned to consuming economies, nations emitting around 1% or less of global CO₂ still account for roughly 28% of the total, almost as much as China alone.

Climate change is a global collective action problem. There are no neglibile emitters.

#8 - One system, two stories

China is both the world’s largest source of emissions and its biggest clean energy force – still deeply fossil-fuelled, yet driving the technologies, investment and electrification reconfiguring the global energy system.

One system, two stories. Where the fossil-fuelled past meets the electrified future.

#21 - Half the Problem

Just 32 companies were linked to more than half of global fossil-fuel and cement CO₂ emissions in 2024. Emissions may be highly concentrated, but getting to net zero is a shared responsibility – fossil fuel producers are ultimately influenced by governments, companies, investors and individuals.

Over half of CO₂ emissions come from 32 companies, mostly state-owned enterprises.

#22 - The Historical Ledger

CO₂ stubbornly accumulates in the atmosphere, so today’s heating reflects generations of emissions, not just what we emit today. Wind the clock back to the start of the fossil-fuel era and the emissions ledger looks very different.

Just 35 companies can be linked to 40% of global CO₂ emissions since 1854.

... to be continued

Follow these links to dive into the other Climate Trunk rings: Science, Impacts, Economics, Governance, Solutions, Energy, Daily Life.