Oxfam: Rich people live much more climate-damaging lives than poor people
According to data analyses by the development organization Oxfam, the extreme consumption of the rich and super-rich is accelerating global warming at an almost obscene rate. In 2019, the richest one percent of the world's population caused as many climate-damaging greenhouse gases as the five billion people who make up the poorer two thirds, according to an Oxfam report.
The report "Climate Equality: A Planet for the 99 Percent" is based on the scientific finding that people's greenhouse gas emissions increase with their private income and wealth. The causes include more frequent air travel, larger houses and more climate-damaging consumption overall - in extreme cases in the form of luxury villas, mega yachts and private jets. The figures are based on data from the Stockholm Environment Institute, which draws on data from the Global Carbon Atlas, the World Inequality Database, the Penn World Tables on Income (PWT) and figures from the World Bank.
Commenting on the findings, Oxfam spokesperson Manuel Schmitt said: "Through their extreme consumption, the rich and super-rich are fueling the climate crisis, which is threatening the livelihoods of billions of people with heatwaves, droughts and floods, especially in the low-income countries of the Global South."
Some of the results:
- The consumption behavior of the richest one percent (77 million people) caused 16 percent of global emissions in 2019 - more than twice as much as the consumption behavior of the poorer half of the world's population, and more than the emissions of all road traffic in the world.
- The richest ten percent of the world's population were responsible for around half of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. This ten percent includes around 53 percent of Germans.
- The richest one percent in Germany was responsible for an average of 83.3 tons of CO2 emissions per capita per year in 2019 - more than fifteen times as much as a person from the poorer half of Germans (5.4 tons of CO2 per capita per year).
Annual income of over 280,000 US dollars
In 2019, the richest one percent of the world's population included people with an annual income of over 140,000 US dollars, while the richest one percent of the German population included people with an annual income of over 280,000 US dollars.
Oxfam explained that new taxes are now needed on climate-damaging corporations and the assets and incomes of the super-rich. This would significantly increase the financial scope for the transition to renewable energies. Ultimately, however, what is also needed is "an overcoming of the current economic system and the fixation on the pursuit of profit, the exploitation of natural resources and consumer-oriented lifestyles".
The Oxfam data is in line with a data analysis published by "taz" in March. According to this, the richest people in Germany emit tens of times more climate-damaging greenhouse gases than the average. While the poorest emitted just over three tons of CO2 per year in 2019, the richest one percent emitted around 105 tons - almost 35 times as much, as the newspaper reported, citing data from the World Inequality Lab, a think tank led by economist Thomas Piketty.
The UN has called on wealthy nations to take immediate action in addressing climate inequality, as highlighted by Oxfam's report. The report underscores the fact that wealthier individuals and nations, such as the top 1%, are significantly contributing to climate change through their excessive consumption, emitting more greenhouse gases than the poorest two-thirds of the world's population combined.
Moreover, organizations like Oxfam and think tanks like the World Inequality Lab continue to raise awareness about the disproportionate environmental footprints of the wealthier segments of society, emphasizing the need for equitable climate policies that account for global climate justice.
Source: www.dpa.com
