The super rich emit emissions equivalent to two-thirds of the global population

“The super-rich are polluting the planet to devastating levels, causing humanity to endure 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 top 1% of the world’s richest people (77 million people) emitted 16% of global carbon emissions, equivalent to the emissions from the poorest 66% of the world’s people (5 billion people). ).

The carbon emissions from the world’s richest 1% are higher than the emissions from all cars and road vehicles globally in 2019. The world’s richest 10% are responsible for half of all carbon emissions globally that year.

This is the latest data Oxfam, a coalition of charities operating in about 90 countries, has collected. Guardian commented that this is the most comprehensive study on 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.

As policymakers prepare for this year’s United Nations climate conference, Schlosberg said data from Oxfam offers a new way to discuss climate equality, beyond the sensitive topic of climate change. The feeling is that industrialized countries have caused global warming.

“It’s a big issue about climate equality, countries don’t want to pay the price for what they did in the past. So we won’t talk about past responsibilities but about the present,” Mr. Schlosberg said. .

Oxfam’s proposal is hardly new and is a solution environmental activists continue to fight for: tax the super-rich and use that money to invest in renewable energy.

Oxfam calls for new taxes on the world’s corporations and billionaires, arguing that a 60% tax on the income of the world’s richest 1% would help cut emissions more than the total emissions of the UK. and collect 6.4 trillion USD per year to use for the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

In recent years, there have also been proposals to tax activities that emit high carbon emissions, such as buying and using private jets, yachts and cars that use fossil fuels.

US Senator Edward J. Markey several months ago proposed taxing private air travel, calling on the rich to contribute fairly to environmental costs.

Canada last year imposed a 10% tax on the purchase of private jets, yachts and luxury cars. In recent years, many celebrities have faced backlash from the public for using private planes, especially model Kylie Jenner who used a private plane for a 14-minute flight.

“People understand inequality and its impact on climate change. Separate taxes for high-emitting activities are gaining public support and it can be seen that some countries are increasingly under pressure to do more on this issue,” Schlosberg said.

Ngoc Anh (According to Washington Post)