UK super-rich polluting 56 times more than those on the lowest incomes

From flying around the world in private jets to keeping their superyachts running, the report – Climate Plunder – reveals how the lifestyles and investments of the super-rich are fuelling climate breakdown and widening inequality in Britain.

• The richest 0.1% emit 56 times more carbon than the 10% of people living in most extreme poverty.
• The richest 0.1% pump out 592 kg of CO₂ every single day - the same as driving from London to Edinburgh and back twice.
• The average UK billionaire’s investments churn out 84,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year - that’s like flying around the world 416 times in a private jet.
• Since 1990, the carbon emissions of the UK’s richest 0.1% have shot up by 53%, while the bottom 90% have cut theirs by 26%.

Beth John, Climate Justice Adviser at Oxfam GB, said:

“The climate crisis is also a crisis of inequality – driven disproportionately by the super-rich through their investments, private jets and superyachts. While ordinary people are cutting back and struggling with rising bills, the UK Government must act decisively to ensure the richest and biggest polluters slash their emissions and pay their fair share to help the UK’s transition to a fairer, greener future for all “

This year’s major international climate conference, COP30, in Brazil, marks ten years since the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015. During this period, the world’s richest 1% have burnt through more than twice as much of the carbon budget as the least wealthy half of humanity combined.

Oxfam is calling on the UK Government to:

• Introduce a wealth tax - supported by 78% of the British public: a crucial start to fund climate action at home and abroad
• Make polluters pay by fairly taxing high emission industries such as oil and gas, and highly polluting activities such as luxury travel
• Make an ambitious new international climate finance commitment
• Limit the influence of polluting corporations and lobbyists in UK climate and energy policy.

Beth John added: “While ordinary people are struggling to heat their homes and feed their families, the super-rich continue to burn through our shared carbon budget at alarming speed. A fair approach to the climate crisis means those with the biggest footprints – and the deepest pockets – must do and pay the most.”

There are two ways people can stand up against this inequality

In the UK – you can call for a Wealth Tax, or globally you can Join us in our call to Make Rich Polluters Pay

Notes to editors

• Download Climate Plunder: How a powerful few are locking the world into disaster and the methodology note.
• Visit the Stockholm Environment Institute’s Emissions Inequality Dashboard for the latest emissions data by income group for over 190 countries
• There are several wealth taxes already in place in the UK. Oxfam supports the following wealth tax reforms that Tax Justice UK and Patriotic Millionaires UK have set out:
• Apply a 2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million, raising up to £24 billion a year;
• Reform capital gains tax to raise £14 billion a year.
• Apply National Insurance to investment income, raising up to £10.2 billion a year.
• Close inheritance tax loopholes to raise £1.4 billion a year.
• Close the loopholes in the new non-dom scheme to raise up to £1 billion.
• Introduce a 4% tax on share buybacks, raising approximately £2 billion a year.