‘Super rich’ emitted as much carbon pollution as the poorest 66%: report
The world’s richest one per cent contributed as much carbon as the five billion people who comprise two-thirds of the globe’s poorest in 2019, which could spell out dire consequences in less than a decade, according to a new report.
The report was published Monday by Oxfam — an independent organization focused on alleviating global poverty — and conducted with the Stockholm Environment Institute.
It found that the emissions of the world’s richest one per cent made up 16 per cent of the total seen in 2019, about the same amount contributed by the poorest 66 per cent of humanity.
In addition, the richest 10 per cent accounted for half the total emissions, with the report noting it would take about 1,500 years for someone in the bottom 99 per cent of the world to “produce as much carbon as the richest billionaires do in a year.”
According to the organization, the size of the emissions from the richest one per cent is enough to cause 1.3 million excess deaths due to heat, with most of these deaths expected to take place between 2020 and 2030.
“(The) report reveals not only are the super-rich getting richer, but they are disproportionately responsible for driving climate change,” Ian Thomson, Oxfam Canada manager of policy, told Global News.
“Not only are they contributing to most of the pollution that’s causing it, but they aren’t bearing the brunt of the climate disasters, the floods, the droughts that are destroying people’s homes, that are causing global hunger.”
As politicians are set to head to the UN’s climate summit next week, the findings raise questions about what could be considered as additional steps needed to combat climate change.
Thomson said those attending the summit will likely be discussing issues
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