Richest 1% driving climate disaster – Oxfam report

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

The world’s wealthiest individuals are accelerating climate breakdown by consuming a disproportionate share of the global carbon budget, according to a new Oxfam report titled “Climate Plunder.”

The report reveals that the richest 1% of the global population burned through 15% of the total carbon budget since 1990, while the poorest 50% used only 7% in the same period.

Oxfam warns that the average carbon footprint of a member of the richest 0.1% surged by 92 tonnes between 1990 and 2023, compared to an increase of just 0.1 tonne for the poorest half of humanity.

If current emission levels continue, the world will deplete its remaining carbon budget in just two years, eliminating any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

The report emphasizes that rebalancing emissions is critical to buying time for a just and sustainable transition.

To stay within the 1.5°C threshold, Oxfam projects that the richest 1% must cut their per capita emissions by 97%, while the top 0.1% must reduce theirs by 99% by 2030.

BILLIONAIRE INVESTMENTS

The emissions crisis is not only a matter of personal consumption, as the world’s richest individuals are also responsible for emissions through their corporate investments.

In 2024 alone, 308 billionaires were linked to investment portfolios emitting 586 million tonnes of CO2e—more than the total emissions of 118 countries combined.

This level of pollution would place the billionaire class as the world’s 15th-largest emitter if ranked as a nation.

Oxfam notes that the average billionaire’s annual investment footprint is 1.9 million tonnes of CO2e—350,000 times higher than the global average.

Even more concerning, an assessment of 222 billionaires’ full value chain emissions (Scope 3) reached 1.85 billion tonnes of CO2e in 2024, or 4% of total global emissions.

Nearly 60% of billionaire investments are in high-impact climate sectors like mining, oil, and gas, compared to 49% for the S&P Global 1200 index.

Many of the companies backed by billionaires have decarbonization plans aligned with a catastrophic 4°C trajectory.

POLITICAL INFLUENCE

The report highlights the excessive influence the ultra-wealthy exert on climate policy and international negotiations.

Corporate lobbying is undermining public policy, with U.S. firms spending an average of USD 277,000 per year on anti-climate lobbying, mostly from oil and gas sectors.

Fossil fuel lobbyists dominated COP29, with 1,773 representatives admitted—more than nearly every national delegation.

Meanwhile, only 180 out of over 50,000 participants at the summit represented Indigenous groups.

Oxfam also draws attention to investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms (ISDS), which allow corporations to sue governments for enacting green policies that may harm their profits.

One example cited involved Bolivia paying USD 18.7 million in compensation to a mining firm after revoking licenses that affected Indigenous land.

PATH TO JUSTICE

Despite the alarming findings, Oxfam asserts that an equitable and sustainable transformation is still achievable.

The report calls on governments to tax extreme wealth, permanently increase taxes on corporate windfall profits, and curb carbon-intensive luxury consumption like private jets and yachts.

In 2024, the world reached a new emissions record and crossed the 1.5°C warming threshold for the first time.

The emissions of the richest 1% from just one year are projected to cause 1.3 million heat-related deaths over the next century.

Additionally, their emissions will cause an estimated USD 44 trillion in economic damages to low- and middle-income countries by 2050.

The carbon emissions of the richest 0.1% alone were enough to exceed the total annual emissions of many developed countries, including South Africa.

If everyone on Earth emitted like the top 1%, the global carbon budget would be exhausted in under three months.

By contrast, the average person in the poorest 50% of the population emits only 2 kilograms of CO2 daily, compared to 800 kilograms for someone in the top 0.1%.

The data was calculated using Oxfam and Stockholm Environment Institute methodology, assigning emissions based on income distribution data and national consumption footprints.

The report aligns with growing global calls to restructure economic systems to prioritize environmental justice and human rights over elite profits.

Governments have a narrow window to implement deep reforms before climate impacts become irreversible, Oxfam concludes.