A recent report by The Guardian, Oxfam, and the Stockholm Environment Institute sheds light on the significant role played by the wealthiest individuals in driving carbon emissions and exacerbating climate change. The report reveals the following key findings:
- Carbon Emissions Disparity:
- In 2019, the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest individuals was responsible for emitting 16% of global carbon emissions.
- This group includes billionaires, millionaires, and individuals earning more than $140,000 a year.
- The emissions of the top 1% were found to be equivalent to the combined emissions of the poorest 66% of the global population, approximately 5 billion people.
- Impact on Mortality:
- The report uses the “mortality cost of carbon” methodology, which estimates the impact of emissions on global temperatures and associated mortality.
- The emissions produced by the top 1% in 2019 (5.9 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide) were deemed sufficient to lead to an estimated 1.3 million deaths.
- Individual Contributions:
- The report highlights that just 12 of the world’s wealthiest billionaires contributed nearly 17 million tonnes of emissions from various sources, including their homes, transportation, yachts, and investments.
- Carlos Slim Helu, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Bernard Arnault are among the top contributors.
- Calls for Action:
- The report calls for urgent actions to address the intertwined challenges of climate change and extreme inequality.
- Recommendations include transitioning to renewable energy sources and implementing a 60% tax on the income of the world’s wealthiest 1%, which could lead to a reduction of 700 million tonnes of global emissions.
- UN’s Adaptation Finance Gap:
- The United Nations issued a separate report on the same day, emphasizing the gap in financing needed for climate adaptation efforts.
- The U.N. Environment Programme’s report highlights the need for 50% more financial investment to bridge the adaptation finance gap, which currently stands between $194 billion and $366 billion annually.
- Developing countries face significantly higher costs and needs related to climate adaptation.
- Emissions on the Rise:
- The report coincides with a UN finding that greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for driving global warming, increased by 1.2% since the previous year, reaching record levels.
- U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned of the possibility of emissions exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius limit within the next five years, emphasizing the need for immediate action.
The report underscores the urgent need for addressing carbon emissions and climate change while emphasizing the role of wealth disparity in exacerbating these issues.