Oxfam: ‘Super-rich emit more CO2 in 90Min than average person in lifetime’

According to a new Oxfam report titled ‘Carbon Inequality Kills’, super-rich Europeans, with their investments and intensive use of superyachts and private planes, emit as much greenhouse gases in one week as the world’s poorest one percent do in their entire lives. 

In other words, fifty of the wealthiest billionaires in the world emit more CO2 in an hour and a half than the average person does in a lifetime. The report was launched in the run-up to the climate negotiations in Azerbaijan.

Private planes

Most people on Earth (90%) do not fly or only fly once a year. However, 23 of the world’s wealthiest billionaires flew their own planes an average of three times a week last year, emitting an absurd amount of CO2.

Oxfam’s analysis shows that an ultra-rich European takes an average of 140 flights per year and thus produces as much CO2 as the average European in 112 years. Therefore, the organization says the major climate polluters have to pay.

Polluting lifestyle

“Europe’s super-rich treat our planet as their personal playground. Their dirty investments, private jets, and yachts don’t just symbolize excess; they fuel inequality, hunger, and even death,” said Alba Saray Pérez Terán, climate policy officer at Oxfam Belgium.

Everyone on earth is noticing the impact of climate change, especially in vulnerable countries. Climate records and disasters are occurring in rapid succession. Still, in the meantime, the super-rich continue with their polluting lifestyles and investments, and global CO2 emissions remain as high as ever.

Between 1990 and 2022, CO2 emissions in the transport sector increased by an average of 1.7% per year. The International Energy Agency predicts that these emissions will continue to grow until 2030, while they must fall by 3% to remain within the Paris Climate Agreements.

SUVs and air traffic

According to the IEA, SUVs are the second largest contributor to the global increase in CO2 emissions over the past decade after the industry sector. In 2023, more than 360 million SUVs worldwide accounted for 1 billion tons of CO2 emissions.

 CO2 emissions from air traffic also contribute significantly to the climate crisis. Flying is one of the most polluting ways of travel, yet governments have spared the aviation sector for years. For example, there is still no tax on kerosene.

Super-rich should foot the bill

Therefore, it is time for change and high time that we pass the buck for the climate crisis to the big polluters. “The super-rich should foot the bill for their carbon footprint through a wealth tax and higher taxes on superyachts and private jets,” Pérez Terán concludes.

Billionaires’ enormous CO2 emissions are primarily due to their investments in mega-polluting industries, such as oil and mining. The second reason is their polluting lifestyle, which includes private jets and superyachts.

Heading to 3°C of global warming

Oxfam advocates a higher and more progressive tax on heavily polluting modes of transport, mainly used by the highest-income earners. This tax could generate approximately 3.7 to 4.4 billion euros in climate financing annually.

Just as Oxfam launched this new report, another report warns us that we were losing the climate battle. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report, we are heading for three degrees of global warming by 2100. Even if the international community keeps its current promises, the world will have warmed by around 2.6 degrees by 2100. Without any effort, global warming will even reach 3.1 degrees.

“In essence, we would need a global mobilization on a scale and at a pace we have never seen before,” concludes UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. “I call on all countries: please, no more bluff poker. Use the COP29 climate summit in Baku to take action now and put dramatically stronger commitments in place.”