The world’s richest 1% have exhausted their annual carbon budget – the amount of CO2 that can be emitted while staying within 1.5 degrees of warming – only ten days into the year, according to new analysis from Oxfam. The richest 0.1% already used up their carbon limit on 3 January.
This day – named by Oxfam as ‘Pollutocrat Day’ – highlights how the super-rich are disproportionately responsible for driving the climate crisis.
Each of the UK’s richest 0.1% produces more carbon pollution on average in eight days than someone in the bottom 50% does in an entire year. Globally, the emissions generated by the richest 1% in one year alone will cause an estimated 1.3 million heat-related deaths by the end of the century.
Decades of over-consumption of emissions by the world’s super-rich are also causing significant economic damage to low and lower-middle income countries, which could add up to $44 trillion by 2050.
To stay within the globally agreed limit of 1.5 degrees, the richest 1% of the world’s population would have to slash their emissions by 97% by 2030. Meanwhile, those who have done the least to cause the climate crisis – including communities in low-income countries on the frontlines of climate change, Indigenous groups, women and girls – will be the worst impacted.
Beth John, Climate Justice Adviser at Oxfam GB, said: "The UK government has a straightforward path to cutting carbon emissions and reducing inequality: focus on the richest polluters. By reining in the extreme carbon excesses of the super‑rich, world leaders can start to steer global climate efforts back on course and deliver meaningful benefits for both people and the planet.”
On top of their lifestyle emissions, the world’s super-rich are also investing in the most polluting industries. Oxfam’s research finds that each billionaire carries, on average, an investment portfolio in companies that will produce 1.9 million tonnes of CO2 a year, further locking the world into climate breakdown.
The world’s wealthiest individuals and corporations also hold disproportionate power and influence. The number of lobbyists from fossil fuel companies attending the recent COP summit in Brazil, for example, was more than any delegation apart from the host nation, with 1600 attendees.
Oxfam calls on the Chancellor to increase taxes on climate-polluting extreme wealth – such as private jets and superyachts – to raise the much-needed funds to tackle the climate crisis in a way that targets those most responsible and who can most afford to pay.
Members of the public can support this call by signing Oxfam’s Make Rich Polluters Pay petition.
