Social inequality is also reflected in the climate crisis. “The rich and super-rich are fueling the climate crisis through their extreme consumption”, explains the expert from the development organization Oxfam.
According to data analysis carried out by the development organization Oxfam, extreme consumption by the rich and super-rich is accelerating global warming to an almost obscene extent. The richest 1% of the world’s population produced as many climate-damaging greenhouse gases in 2019 as the five billion people who make up the poorest two-thirds, according to an Oxfam report released Monday.
The “Climate Equity: A Planet for the 99 Percent” report is based on scientific knowledge that people’s greenhouse gas emissions increase with private income and wealth. Reasons include more frequent air travel, bigger homes and more climate-damaging global consumption – in extreme cases in the form of luxury villas, mega yachts and private jets. The basis is figures from the Stockholm Environment Institute, which are based on data from the Global Carbon Atlas, the World Inequality Database, the Penn World Income Tables (PWT) and figures from the World Bank.
Oxfam spokesperson Manuel Schmitt said of the findings: “Through their extreme consumption, the rich and super-rich are fueling the climate crisis, which is threatening the livelihoods of billions of people. with heat waves, droughts or floods, especially in low-income regions. countries of the Global South.”
Ten percent are responsible for half of emissions
Some results of the study:
- The consumption behavior of the richest percentage (77 million people) caused 16% of global emissions in 2019 – more than double the consumption behavior of the poorest half of the world’s population and more than the emissions from all road transport in the world .
- The richest ten percent of the world’s population were responsible for about half of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019.
In 2019, the richest percentage of the world’s population included people with an annual income of more than $140,000.
Oxfam explained that new taxes were now needed on climate-damaging companies and on the assets and income of the super-rich. This would significantly increase the financial scope for the transition to renewable energy. Ultimately, however, there is also a need to “overcome the current economic system and its fixation on making profits, exploiting natural resources and consumer-oriented lifestyles”. (APA)