Nobody knows exactly how many private jets will be attending the United Nation’s COP28 summit in Dubai later this month, but the ones that do will be responsible for the vast majority of carbon emissions they hope to save the planet from.A new report by global charity Oxfam has confirmed what most already knew: the world’s top 10% of wealthiest are either directly or indirectly responsible for about half of the planet’s emissions. Or put another way, the world’s richest 1% of global elites — the ones who travel by private jet — are responsible for about the same amount of carbon pollution as the five billion people who make up the poorest 66% of people in the world.Every year, the emissions of the “carbon hungry lifestyles” the richest 1% cancel out the carbon savings coming from nearly one million wind turbines jetting off to confabs such as COP28. And by definition, legislators who make more than USD$130,000 per year are indeed part of that ‘global elite’..The symbol of that conspicuous consumption has become the private jet.“For years, we’ve fought to end the era of fossil fuels to save millions of lives and our planet. It’s clearer than ever this will be impossible until we, too, end the era of extreme wealth.”An analysis of the world’s 125 top billionaires, the study found they emit the equivalent of 393 million tonnes of CO2 a year — roughly equivalent of France — through their investments alone. Just 20 of those 125 billionaires emit on average 8,194 tonnes of CO2 per year each, compared to 4.1 tonnes per person in the remaining 99%..The report draws on numbers from the Stockholm Environment Institute and found it would take about 1,500 years for someone in that bottom 99% bracket to produce as much carbon as the richest billionaires do in a year. Only one — presumably Bill Gates — had invested in a renewable energy company while the rest had extensive holdings in sectors such as fossil fuels and even cement.Outsized emissions of the richest 1% will cause 1.3 million heat-related excess deaths by 2030, roughly equivalent to the population of Dublin, Ireland. The vast majority of those — 91% — will be in the energy-starved southern hemisphere.While the group is calling for the world to get off carbon energy, it urges it be done “quickly and fairly.”It’s also calling for a global minimum income of $25 per day and a 60% surtax on the super wealthy — to pay for it.“We must make the connection explicitly. Not taxing wealth allows the richest to rob from us, ruin our planet and renege on democracy. Taxing extreme wealth transforms our chances to tackle both inequality and the climate crisis. These are trillions of dollars at stake to invest in dynamic 21st century green governments, but also to re-inject into our democracies,” said Behar.
Nobody knows exactly how many private jets will be attending the United Nation’s COP28 summit in Dubai later this month, but the ones that do will be responsible for the vast majority of carbon emissions they hope to save the planet from.A new report by global charity Oxfam has confirmed what most already knew: the world’s top 10% of wealthiest are either directly or indirectly responsible for about half of the planet’s emissions. Or put another way, the world’s richest 1% of global elites — the ones who travel by private jet — are responsible for about the same amount of carbon pollution as the five billion people who make up the poorest 66% of people in the world.Every year, the emissions of the “carbon hungry lifestyles” the richest 1% cancel out the carbon savings coming from nearly one million wind turbines jetting off to confabs such as COP28. And by definition, legislators who make more than USD$130,000 per year are indeed part of that ‘global elite’..The symbol of that conspicuous consumption has become the private jet.“For years, we’ve fought to end the era of fossil fuels to save millions of lives and our planet. It’s clearer than ever this will be impossible until we, too, end the era of extreme wealth.”An analysis of the world’s 125 top billionaires, the study found they emit the equivalent of 393 million tonnes of CO2 a year — roughly equivalent of France — through their investments alone. Just 20 of those 125 billionaires emit on average 8,194 tonnes of CO2 per year each, compared to 4.1 tonnes per person in the remaining 99%..The report draws on numbers from the Stockholm Environment Institute and found it would take about 1,500 years for someone in that bottom 99% bracket to produce as much carbon as the richest billionaires do in a year. Only one — presumably Bill Gates — had invested in a renewable energy company while the rest had extensive holdings in sectors such as fossil fuels and even cement.Outsized emissions of the richest 1% will cause 1.3 million heat-related excess deaths by 2030, roughly equivalent to the population of Dublin, Ireland. The vast majority of those — 91% — will be in the energy-starved southern hemisphere.While the group is calling for the world to get off carbon energy, it urges it be done “quickly and fairly.”It’s also calling for a global minimum income of $25 per day and a 60% surtax on the super wealthy — to pay for it.“We must make the connection explicitly. Not taxing wealth allows the richest to rob from us, ruin our planet and renege on democracy. Taxing extreme wealth transforms our chances to tackle both inequality and the climate crisis. These are trillions of dollars at stake to invest in dynamic 21st century green governments, but also to re-inject into our democracies,” said Behar.
