The scope of due diligence includes “adverse human rights impacts that the business enterprise may cause or contribute to through its own activities, or which may be directly linked to its operations, products or services by its business relationships.”78 Further, this process should be on-going and involve meaningful consultation with potentially affected groups and other relevant stakeholders.79 Inconsistent with the requirement of due diligence in corporate responsibility, these companies are making long-term investments based on a scenario in which global consumption of fossil fuels continues to grow, thus warming the earth to levels that will lead to dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system resulting in human rights impacts. For example, Exxon publicly dismissed a “low carbon” scenario—stabilization of the global temperature increase to not exceed 2° Celsius by 2100—and continues to invest its resources contrary to the 2° Celsius goal.80 Similarly, according to Energy Transition Advisors and the Carbon Tracker Initiative, Shell is making its projections based on a scenario that puts the world on a pathway for a temperature rise of roughly 6° Celsius.81 The Carbon Majors are ignoring the science and the harms related to the combustion and use of the coal, oil and gas that they produce. The companies have the technical and financial capability to prevent the harm. As a means to comply with the requirements of identifying, preventing, mitigating, and accounting for adverse human rights impacts, it is important that immediate steps are taken by the companies to eliminate the risk of further human rights infringements. 4. The groundbreaking Carbon Majors data makes it feasible to assign responsibility to the Carbon Majors collectively and individually for !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 78 Guiding Principles, supra note 24, principle 17(a), page 17. Id. at principles 17 and 18, page 17-19. 80 ExxonMobil, Energy and Carbon – Managing the Risks, Mar. 31, 2014, http://cdn.exxonmobil.com/~/media/global/files/other/2014/report---energy-and-carbon---managing-therisks.pdf (last accessed on June 16, 2015). 81 Energy Transition Advisors and Carbon Tracker Initiative, Responding to Shell: An Analytical Perspective, June 2014, http://www.carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/CTI-Shell-ResponseFinal-030714-Full2.pdf, at 4. 79 ! ! ! ! ! 36 !