Annual global emissions of the super-rich 1% was cancelling out the carbon savings from almost a million onshore wind turbines, it shows
Photo: iStock_ The richest one per cent of the world’s people emitted as much carbon as the poorest five billion who make up 66 per cent of the global population, according to a new report.
The volume of their emissions in that year are enough to cause 1.3 million deaths due to heat, Oxfam noted in the report.
Annual global emissions of the super-rich 1 per cent was cancelling out the carbon savings from almost a million onshore wind turbines, the authors of Climate equality: A planet for the 99% said.
Understanding the role of “super-rich and rich people”, who are just 1 per cent of the world’s total population in climate breakdown, is important to stabalise the planet and ensure a “good life” for all, noted OXFAM in the report.
The super rich are key to the climate story due to the carbon they emit in their daily lives, from their consumption and lifestyles to their investments and shareholdings in heavily polluting industries. In addition, they hold an undue influence over the media, the economy, politics and policymaking, the authors of the report pointed out.
“The emissions of the 1 per cent are set to be over 22 times more than the safe limit (the emissions allowed if we are to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming) in 2030,” they added.
Governments can tackle the twin crises of inequality and climate change by targeting the excessive emissions of the super-rich, investing in public services and meeting climate goals.
Taxes on the wealth and income of the riches could cut carbon pollution and raise over $9 trillion a year to invest in a green, equal future for all, according to the report.
“A tax of 60 per cent on the incomes of the super-rich 1 per cent of earners globally would cut the carbon equivalent of more than the total emissions of the United Kingdom and raise $6.4 trillion to fund renewable energy and a transition away from fossil fuels,” the authors noted.
Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International interim executive-director, said, “for years, we’ve fought to end an era of fossil fuels to save millions of lives and our planet. It’s clearer than ever this will be impossible until we also end an era of extreme wealth”.
The countries that are least responsible for global warming, the low-emitting nations, are suffering the worst consequences of climate crisis and also the least able to respond and recover.
The most vulnerable countries in the world are located in Africa, South Asia, Central and South America, Small Island Developing States and the Arctic.
Africa’s emissions were less than four per cent, despite the continent being home to 17 per cent of the world’s populations.
More than 91 per cent of climate related disasters of the past 50 years occurred in developing countries. The death toll from floods is seven times higher in the most unequal countries as compared to more equal countries.
Women and other groups experiencing discrimination, especially those with fewer economic resources tend to have less access to relief assistance and lower survival rates following a climate-related disaster.
A joint research report by the Stockholm Environment Institute and Oxfam, September 2020 examined the different contributions of different income groups to carbon emissions from 1990 to 2015. During this period, carbon dioxide emissions rose by roughly 60 per cent (13.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide).
Nearly half of the total growth in absolute emissions was due to the richest 10 per cent, with the richest 5 per cent alone contributing over a third (37 per cent). The impact of the poorest half of the world’s population was practically negligible.
Sunita Narain, director-general of the Centre for Science and Environment, said, “climate finance can no longer be the money that goes to only increase the indebtedness of countries and makes them even more vulnerable to the next disaster”.
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