--- title: World's Biggest Polluters Linked to Western Wildfires description: The 88 companies responsible for the most carbon emissions are responsible for a third of forests burned in the western U.S. and Canada since 1986. canonical: https://time.com/6280924/polluting-companies-climate-wildfire-study/ author: Kyla Mandel article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-05-18T16:33:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T15:54:08.709Z article:section: Climate og:title: World's Biggest Polluters Linked to 1/3rd of Western Wildfires Since 1986 og:description: Scientists hope the new findings can be used to hold fossil fuel polluters accountable for their climate impacts. og:url: https://time.com/6280924/polluting-companies-climate-wildfire-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89723c073bbb5a0b/698a3d20db2987866726902d/wildfire-north-america-fossil-fuel-polluter-study.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-CANADA-FIRE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: World's Biggest Polluters Linked to 1/3rd of Western Wildfires Since 1986 twitter:description: Scientists hope the new findings can be used to hold fossil fuel polluters accountable for their climate impacts. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89723c073bbb5a0b/698a3d20db2987866726902d/wildfire-north-america-fossil-fuel-polluter-study.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # World's Biggest Polluters Responsible for a Third of Forests Burned in Western North America > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Kyla Mandel](https://time.com/author/kyla-mandel/)  ## Kyla Mandel Mandel is a senior editor at TIME. May 18, 2023 4:33 PM UTC  A burnt landscape caused by wildfires near Entrance, Wild Hay area, Alberta, Canada on May 10, 2023. A burnt landscape caused by wildfires near Entrance, Wild Hay area, Alberta, Canada on May 10, 2023. Megan Albu/AFP—Getty Images  by [Kyla Mandel](https://time.com/author/kyla-mandel/)  ## Kyla Mandel Mandel is a senior editor at TIME. May 18, 2023 4:33 PM UTC It’s impossible to ignore the impact of climate change as early-season fires rage in western Canada right now. And scientists are getting better and better at [calculating the likelihood of a specific event happening because of climate change](https://time.com/6079744/climate-weather-attribution/)—such as a drought or heat wave that can exacerbate fire conditions. Now, scientists are also able to pin-point just how responsible the top polluters are for the impact of these wildfires. According to a new study published May 16 in [_Environmental Research Letters_](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acbce8), 37% of the total area of forest burned in the western U.S. and Canada since 1986 can be linked to the emissions released by the world’s 88 biggest fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers. The researchers determined this by looking at the role these companies’ pollution played in creating an ever-hotter world that dries-out vegetation to create tinder-box forest conditions. In the past several decades, everything about wildfires has increased: the amount of land burned, the severity of the burn, the number of large fires, the length of the fire season, and the elevation at which fires are occurring. The study found that since 1901, the 88 companies’ emissions helped drive nearly half (47%) of the increase in the drier conditions that have heightened the risk of these more intense fires across western North America. The findings add to a growing body of evidence specifically linking the world’s biggest polluters to climate change and its impacts. Previous studies have shown that between 1880 and 2010, carbon emissions from these companies have contributed to [more than 40% of the global warming ](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-017-1978-0)the world has experienced, along with [a quarter of all sea level rise](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-017-1978-0), and [50% of ocean acidification](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab5abc/pdf). --- **_A version of this story also appears in the_** **Climate is Everything** **_newsletter. To sign up,_** [**_click here_**](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters/?newsletter%5Fname=climate&source=onsite)**_._** --- As this week’s study emphasizes, the findings underscore “the responsibility these companies bear for the impacts of climate change.” But it’s not just about the amount of forest lost, the researchers note: “These impacts extend far beyond a given fire scar and cause both direct and indirect harm to economies, ecosystems, public health, and communities.” U.S. federal fire suppression costs, for example, have increased by sevenfold between the late 1980s and 2017, while similar costs in Canada have doubled during that same time. The researchers hope the findings can be used to hold fossil fuel polluters accountable for these impacts. “Our study offers scientifically backed answers to questions of who bears the responsibility for this gut-wrenching destruction,” [said](https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/ucs-study-links-fossil-fuel-companies-burned-area-western-north-america) Kristina Dahl, a principal climate scientist at the Union for Concerned Scientists and the report’s lead author. “We’re hopeful that with new evidence in hand, policymakers, elected officials, and legal experts will be better equipped to truly hold fossil fuel companies accountable in public, political, and legal arenas.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6280924/polluting-companies-climate-wildfire-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6280924/polluting-companies-climate-wildfire-study/"},"headline":"World's Biggest Polluters Responsible for a Third of Forests Burned in Western North America","datePublished":"2023-05-18T16:33:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:54:08.709Z","description":"The 88 companies responsible for the most carbon emissions are responsible for a third of forests burned in the western U.S. and Canada since 1986.","url":"https://time.com/6280924/polluting-companies-climate-wildfire-study/","keywords":["extreme weather","climate change","embargoed study","healthscienceclimate","Climate Is Everything"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89723c073bbb5a0b/698a3d20db2987866726902d/wildfire-north-america-fossil-fuel-polluter-study.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kyla Mandel","jobTitle":"Mandel is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/kyla-mandel/"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89723c073bbb5a0b/698a3d20db2987866726902d/wildfire-north-america-fossil-fuel-polluter-study.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOT-CANADA-FIRE","caption":"A burnt landscape caused by wildfires near Entrance, Wild Hay area, Alberta, Canada on May 10, 2023.","creditText":"Megan Albu/AFP—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/extreme-weather/","name":"extreme weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6280924/polluting-companies-climate-wildfire-study/","name":"World's Biggest Polluters Responsible for a Third of Forests Burned in Western North America"}}]}] ```