The Private Equity Global Energy Trackers
Explore a searchable list of recent energy holdings of 20 global private equity firms, including large-scale buyout firms, infrastructure firms, and energy specialists.
Global Energy Company Tracker Global Fossil Fuel Asset Tracker
Understanding the Databases
Terms of Use Agreement
In the past decade, major private equity firms that have promised to reduce their own climate impact have been quietly investing in fossil fuels, further propelling the climate crisis. The Private Equity Climate Risks project has developed databases of the energy companies and fossil fuel assets of 20 of the largest private equity firms in the world, compiling their energy companies and fossil fuel assets in easy-to-access databases, not available anywhere else. The Global Energy Company Tracker shows the energy holdings (companies) of the 20 private equity firms, and the Global Fossil Fuel Asset Tracker details the individual fossil fuel assets of the energy companies listed in the company tracker.
These datasets allow investors, policymakers, regulators, researchers, journalists, and the general public to investigate and better understand the role the private equity industry is playing in the continued production and distribution of fossil fuels.
The private equity firms included in the databases are: Apollo Global Management, ArcLight, Ares Management, BlackRock Private Equity Partners (Global Infrastructure Partners), Blackstone, Brookfield (Oaktree), Carlyle (NGP), EIG Global Energy Partners, EnCap Investments (Encap Flatrock Midstream), Global Infrastructure Partners, Energy Capital Partners (owned by Bridgepoint), EQT, I Squared Capital, IFM Investors, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, KKR, Macquarie Asset Management, Quantum Capital Group, Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, TPG Inc., and Warburg Pincus.
Private Equity and the Climate Crisis
Since 2010, private equity firms have invested over one trillion dollars in energy projects and are now under scrutiny for the environmental and climate impact of their investments,[1] which face less regulatory oversight than those of other financial actors, like big banks.
The adverse effects of climate change and environmental degradation, such as more frequent and more extreme droughts, prolonged heat waves, flooding, wildfires, long-term health impacts,[2] and large-scale displacement of people,[3] are already here.[4] To curtail the impacts of unabated greenhouse gas emissions, limit average global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius,[5] and reduce air and water pollution, it is imperative to cut the financing flows that enable the extraction, transport, use of, and dependence on fossil fuels. The investment practices of private equity firms must be shifted for these efforts to succeed.
The Private Equity Model Creates an Accountability Vacuum for Community and Climate Harms
Private equity firms are investment companies that raise money from wealthy individuals and institutional investors—such as pension funds or university endowments—to create funds with which private equity firms purchase companies, real estate, natural resources, and other assets.[6] Funds have a typical life span of seven to 10 years. During the first three to five years, the fund makes investments and during the balance, the investments are realized and returns are distributed to investors.[7]
Usually, these investments are accompanied by taking over board seats or management positions in the target portfolio company and running the firm. That’s why the PECR tallied every energy company in which a named private equity firm has made an investment—in this context, private equity firms are not passive investors.
Financially, private equity firms seek to rapidly extract profits out of these new acquisitions before selling them or taking them public.[8] Typically, private equity firms use large amounts of borrowed money to acquire a target company. The debt is then added on to the target company’s balance sheet and the private equity owners often impose a combination of extensive cost cuts, expensive fees, and excessive risk-taking to be able to service the debt while still aiming to generate profit over the course of their holding period,[9] typically five years.[10] Companies can end up bankrupt after a private equity firm has exited the investment.[11]
The industry’s lack of financial accountability is enabled by regulatory loopholes that allow private equity firms to bypass most disclosure requirements and to legally implement complex corporate structures that largely eliminate their liability for portfolio companies’ negligence, malpractice or even government fines and fees.[12
Private equity firms’ financial extraction, cost-cutting, and evasive practices pose unique risks for their portfolio companies along the fossil fuel supply chain, for those companies’ workers, and for the communities in their vicinity. Financial resources that should go towards capital improvements, maintenance, or retaining adequate levels of qualified staff have at times been siphoned to Wall Street investors, with disastrous consequences.[13] Private equity firms’ lack of investment and disregard of environmental regulations has led to oil spills and air pollution, worker injuries, and pollution from refineries and chemical plants that have spewed contaminants to neighboring communities.[14]
These business practices can intensify harm to low-income communities, communities of color, and Indigenous peoples worldwide. Black, immigrant, Indigenous and low-income communities in North America, alongside residents in other countries with a history of colonial rule, are especially at risk. These communities have long been subject to environmental injustices stemming from the location of polluting projects and extractive industries, and they are increasingly vulnerable to climate change.[15] Lack of access to affordable healthcare —exacerbated by the intersection of factors like gender, race, ethnicity, income level, and the history of dispossession and slavery—compounds the problem.[16]
[1] Giachino, Alyssa and Riddhi Mehta-Neugebauer. “Private Equity Propels the Climate Crisis.” Private Equity Stakeholder Project. October 2021. https://pestakeholder.org/reports/private-equity-propels-the-climate-crisis-the-risks-of-a-shadowy-industrys-massive- exposure-to-oil-gas-and-coal/; Giachino, Alyssa, Alex Hurley, Riddhi Mehta-Neugebauer, Amanda Mendoza, Alyssa Moore, and Oscar Valdés Viera. “The Carlyle Group’s Hidden Climate Impact: Exposing a Decade of Fossil Fuel Investments.” Private Equity Climate Risks. April 2023. https://www.peclimaterisks.org/the-carlyle-groups-hidden-climate-impact/; Valdés Viera, Oscar, Patrick Woodall, Mariam Zahran, and Stephanie Apollon. “Private Equity Ownership of U.S. Power Plants: A Hidden Climate Threat.” Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. May 2022. https://ourfinancialsecurity.org/2022/05/report-private-equity-ownership-of-u-s-power-plants-a-hidden-climate-threat/.
[2] van Daalen, Kim R, et al. “The 2022 Europe report of the lancet Countdown on health and climate change: towards a climate resilient future.” Countdown. Volume 7, Issue 11, e942-e965. November 2022. https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2822%2901540-9.
[3] United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. “‘Intolerable tide’ of people displaced by climate change: UN expert.” Press Release. June 23, 2022. https://bit.ly/3ymkh5R.
[4] Rosen, Julia. “The Science of Climate Change Explained: Facts, Evidence and Proof.” New York Times. Published April 19, 2021. Updated November 6, 2021. Accessed July 21, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/article/climate-change-global-warming-faq.html; Fountain, Henry. Climate Change Is Accelerating, Bringing World ‘Dangerously Close’
to Irreversible Change.” New York Times. Published December 4, 2019. Updated November 10, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/climate/climate-change-acceleration.html; Fountain, Henry. “How Bad Is the Bootleg Fire? It’s Generating Its Own Weather.” New York Times. Published July 19, 2021. Updated Dec. 17, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/climate/bootleg-wildfire-weather.html; O’Connor, M.R. “What It’s like to Fight a Megafire”. The New Yorker. November 8, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/11/15/what-is-it-like-to-fight-a-megafire.
[5] Perez, M.Wairiu, and K. Zickfeld. 2018. Framing and Context. In: Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty [Masson- Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J.B.R. Matthews, y. Chen, X. Zhou, M.I. Gomis, E. lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, and T. Waterfield (eds.)]. 2018. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New york, Ny, USA, pp. 49-92. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157940.003.
[6] For more see: Morran, Chris and Daniel Petty. “What Private Equity Firms Are and How They Operate.” ProPublica. August 3, 2022. Accessed July 3, 2023. https://www.propublica.org/article/what-is-private-equity.
[7] Blackstone. “The life Cycle of Private Equity.” August 2020. Accessed July 3, 2023. https://pws.blackstone.com/apac/education-insights/article/the-life-cycle-of-private-equity/.
[8] Prete, Ryan. “How private equity firms make money.” PitchBook. September 8, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/how-private-equity-firms-make-money.
[9] For more on private equity general practices see: Americans for Financial Reform. “America for Sale? An Examination of the Practices of Private Funds.” Testimony Submitted to the Committee on Financial Services US House of Representatives. November 19, 2019. https://ourfinancialsecurity.org/2019/11/congressional-testimony-2/; Appelbaum, Eileen and Rosemary Batt. “A Primer on Private Equity at Work: Management, Employment, and Sustainability.” February 2012. https://cepr.net/report/primer-on-private-equity/; Morran, Chris and Daniel Petty. “What Private Equity Firms Are and How They Operate.” ProPublica. August 3, 2022. Accessed July 3, 2023. https://www.propublica.org/article/what-is-private-equity.
[10] Pitchbook. “US PE Breakdown. 2021 Annual.” At p. 33. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://files.pitchbook.com/website/files/pdf/2021_Annual_US_PE_Breakdown.pdf.
[11] Ayash, Brian and Mahdi Rastad. “leveraged Buyouts and Financial Distress.” California State Polytechnic University. July 19, 2019. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3423290; Giachino, Alyssa. “Private Equity-Backed Companies Dominate 2020 Oil and Gas Bankruptcies.” Private Equity Stakeholder Project. January 28, 2021. Accessed June 7, 2023. https://pestakeholder.org/news/private-equity-backed-companies-dominate-2020-oil-and-gas-bankruptcies-2/.
[12] Morton, Matthew D. “Strategies to Protect your Fund from Portfolio Company Environmental liability.” Global Private Equity Watch. March 28, 2016. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://privateequity.weil.com/features/strategies-protect-fund-portfolio-company-environmental-liability/; levitin, Adam. “Private Equity’s Abuse of limited liability.” Credit Slips. August 27, 2019. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2019/08/private-equity-abuses-limited-liability.html.
[13] Renshaw, Jarrett. “Before fire, Philadelphia refinery scaled back big maintenance project: sources.” Reuters. June 26, 2019. Accessed
July 23, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-refinery-blast-philadelphia-maintenan/before-fire-philadelphia-refinery-scaled-back-big-maintenance-project-sources-idUSKCN1TR2NP; Renshaw, Jarrett. “Refiner goes belly-up after big payouts to Carlyle Group.” Reuters. February 20, 2018. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biofuels-pes-bankruptcy-insight/refiner-goes-belly-up-after-big-payouts-to-carlyle-group-idUSKCN1G40I1.
[14] First-Arai, leanna. “The Price of Private Equity’s New york Power Plant Grab.” The Nation. September 13, 2022. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/private-equity-power-plants-new-york/; Salamone, Anthony. “Talen Energy-owned power plants hit with third bankruptcy since 2014. lehigh Valley company says no changes seen to local.” operations.” The Morning Call. July 2, 2020. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://www.mcall.com/2020/07/02/talen-energy-owned-power-plants-hit-with-third-bankruptcy-since-2014-lehigh-valley-company-says-no-changes-seen-to-local-operations/; Villarosa, linda. “Pollution Is Killing Black Americans. This Community Fought Back.” New York Times. July 28, 2020. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/magazine/pollution-philadelphia-black-americans.html; Giachino, Alyssa, Alex Hurley, Riddhi Mehta-Neugebauer, Amanda Mendoza, Alyssa Moore, and Oscar Valdés Viera. “The Carlyle Group’s Hidden Climate Impact: Exposing a Decade of Fossil Fuel Investments.” Private Equity Climate Risks. April 2023. https://www.peclimaterisks.org/the-carlyle-groups-hidden-climate-impact/; Renshaw, Jarrett. “Before fire, Philadelphia refinery scaled back big maintenance project: sources.” Reuters. June 26, 2019. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-refinery-blast-philadelphia-maintenan/before-fire-philadelphia-refinery-scaled-back-big-maintenance-project-sources-idUSKCN1TR2NP; Renshaw, Jarrett. “Refiner goes belly-up after big payouts to Carlyle Group.” Reuters. February 20, 2018. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biofuels-pes-bankruptcy-insight/refiner-goes-belly-up-after-big-payouts-to-carlyle-group-idUSKCN1G40I1; Americans for Financial Reform. “Private Equity’s Chemical Catastrophe in Texas.” December 2019. https://ourfinancialsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFREF-FWW-PEs-Chemical-Catastrophe.pdf; Villarosa, linda. “Pollution Is Killing Black Americans. This Community Fought Back.” New York Times. July 28, 2020. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/magazine/pollution-philadelphia-black-americans.html.
[15] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “Synthesis Report for the Sixth Assessment Report during the Panel’s 58th Session held in Interlaken, Switzerland from 13-19 March 2023.” See section “2.1.2 Observed Climate System Changes and Impacts to Date” at pp. 11-17. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SyR_longerReport.pdf.
[16] Hill, latoya, Nambi Ndugga, and Samantha Artiga. “Key Data on Health and Health Care by Race and Ethnicity.” KFF. Annual update published on March 15, 2023. https://bit.ly/3OGyTVw.
