Anti-poverty and injustice organization Oxfam released a report showing that in 2019 the super-rich emitted the equivalent of two-thirds of the world's population.
"The super-rich are polluting the planet to devastating levels, exposing humanity to extreme heat, floods and droughts," Oxfam International acting executive director Amitabh Behar said in a statement on November 20, calling on world leaders to "end the era of the super-rich."
Oxfam released a report showing that in 2019, the world's top 1% of richest people (77 million people) emitted 16% of global carbon emissions, equivalent to the emissions of the world's poorest 66% (5 billion people).
The carbon emissions of the world's richest 1% were higher than those of all cars and road transport worldwide in 2019. The world's richest 10% emitted half of global carbon emissions that year.
This is the latest data collected by Oxfam, a coalition of charities operating in around 90 countries. The Guardian commented that this is the most comprehensive study of climate inequality ever conducted.
“These findings are not surprising, but they are important,” said David Schlosberg, director of the Sydney Environment Institute at the University of Sydney.
A private plane takes off on October 31 from the airport in George, South Africa, where a solar panel system is being installed. Photo: AFP
As policymakers prepare for this year's United Nations climate conference, Mr Schlosberg said the Oxfam data offers a new way to discuss climate equity, beyond the sensitive topic of industrialised countries' role in global warming.
“It’s a big issue for climate equity, countries don’t want to pay for what they did in the past. So we’re not going to talk about past responsibility, we’re going to talk about the present,” Mr Schlosberg said.
Oxfam's proposal is hardly new and is a solution that environmental activists continue to fight for: tax the super-rich and use that money to invest in renewable energy.
Oxfam is calling for a new tax on the world's corporations and billionaires, saying a 60% tax on the income of the world's richest 1% would cut emissions by more than the UK's total and raise $6.4 trillion a year to fund the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
In recent years, proposals have also emerged to tax high-carbon activities, such as the purchase and use of private jets, yachts and fossil-fuel cars.
US Senator Edward J. Markey proposed a tax on private jet travel a few months ago, calling on the wealthy to pay their fair share of environmental costs.
Canada last year imposed a 10% tax on purchases of private jets, yachts and luxury cars. In recent years, many celebrities have faced public backlash for using private jets, most notably model Kylie Jenner, who used a private jet for a 14-minute flight.
“People understand inequality and its impact on climate change. Separate taxes for high-emission activities are gaining public support and we can see some countries coming under increasing pressure to do more on this issue,” Schlosberg said.
Ngoc Anh (According to Washington Post )
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