With over a trillion dollars in energy investments that generate high greenhouse gas emissions, private equity firms have an outsized role in accelerating the climate crisis.

New research for this edition of the scorecard exposes the staggering extent of these investments, revealing that the energy portfolios of leading private equity firms are responsible for 1.17 gigatons of annual emissions. That’s 1.17 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent—concentrated in sectors like upstream fossil fuels, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, and coal plants.

Explore a searchable list of recent energy holdings of 21 global private equity firms, including large-scale buyout firms, infrastructure firms, and energy specialists.

KKR might claim to prioritize environmental responsibility, but with a staggering 78% of their energy portfolio companies rooted in fossil fuels, the numbers tell a different story.

This report spotlights three prominent KKR gas investments, showcasing a pattern of repeated environmental violations, failure to obtain community consent, a lack of accountable business practices, and significant cost overruns.

As one of the world’s largest private equity firms, The Carlyle Group invests heavily in fossil fuels, despite the urgent need to transition to renewable energy. For every $1 invested in renewable energy, Carlyle invests $16 in fossil fuels, exacerbating the global climate crisis.

Carlyle’s energy investments from 2011-2021 is heavily skewed toward fossil fuels with $22.4 billion in carbon-based energy and only $1.4 billion in renewables. This resulted in an estimated 277 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, which would take 4.6 billion newly planted trees ten years to remove.

Learn more about the financial and reputational risks of Carlyle’s fossil fuel investments and their impact on the planet and communities.