An average hour and a half in the lives of 50 of the world’s richest billionaires emits more carbon pollution than a normal income person does in their entire life time, according to a report from Oxfam.
The research, ‘Carbon Inequality Kills’, shows that the super rich not only dwarf people through their bank balances and assets but also through their carbon footprint. As well as driving us towards global and irreversible climate crisis catastrophe, these emissions are already damaging crop yields, global GDP, and causing excess deaths.
“Unbridled greed” and carbon pollution
Oxfam International executive director Amitabh Behar said:
The super-rich are treating our planet like their personal playground, setting it ablaze for pleasure and profit. Their dirty investments and luxury toys —private jets and yachts— aren’t just symbols of excess; they’re a direct threat to people and the planet
Oxfam’s research makes it painfully clear: the extreme emissions of the richest, from their luxury lifestyles and even more from their polluting investments, are fueling inequality, hunger and —make no mistake— threatening lives. It’s not just unfair that their reckless pollution and unbridled greed is fueling the very crisis threatening our collective future —it’s lethal
Oxfam highlighted the difference in emissions between workers and billionaire bosses.
Jeff Bezos has two private jets that spend around 25 days in the air over a 12 month period. During that time, he emitted 2,908 tonnes of CO2, which is more than an Amazon employee would in 207 years. Or, for someone from the global poorest 50%, it would take 2,000 years to produce that much carbon.
Elon Musk also has (at least) two private jets. Through these, Musk produces 5,497 tonnes of CO2 per year – more than the average person from the poorest 50% emits in 5,437 years.
Those investments
But Oxfam further points out that it’s the investments of the super-rich that are most shaping the disastrous future we are currently on course for. If people carry on as present, the total carbon budget (the amount of CO2 that can be emitted before we move beyond 1.5C of warming) will be depleted by 2029.
For each of the world’s richest 50 billionaires, their investments in dirty energy produce an average of 2.6 million tonnes of CO2. That’s the equivalent of 400,000 years of consumption from the average person or 2.6 million years of consumption from someone from the poorest 50% of the planet.
Many of these corporations billionaires are invested in not only produce sky high emissions, they also actively lobby against climate policy, Oxfam research found.
While billionaire emissions are particularly staggering, it’s also true that millionaires and those on high salaries have the highest emissions. The report notes that, globally, a whopping half of all emissions come from the richest 10% of people.
The real-world impact
The charity also analysed the destruction the emissions of the super rich have on global GDP. Oxfam found that in three decades of consumption emissions, the 1% have already caused worldwide economic output to drop by $2.9 trillion between 1990 and 2023. This has mainly impacted and continues to impact low income countries from the global south.
When it comes to causing hunger, the consumption emissions of the 1% in three decades have already led to crop losses that could feed 14.5 million people a year from 1990 to 2023.
Then there’s the excess deaths. Oxfam estimates that the consumption emissions of the super rich 1% in just four years (2015-2019) will cause 15,000 deaths per year through more extreme heat from 2020-2120.
The UK is doing pretty much sweet FA about billionaires’ carbon pollution
Oxfam argues for increased taxation on the super rich to address their rampant emissions.
In the budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves increased taxes for private jet passengers by 50%, but these fees are still next to nothing for the super rich.
Besides, prime minister Keir Starmer dropped his pledge for a £28bn investment in green energy. This was already not enough. Instead, he’s issuing £22bn for fossil fuel companies to conduct vanity carbon capture and storage projects that don’t even work.
Featured image via World of Luxury – YouTube
