Fifty of the world’s richest billionaires produce more carbon through their luxurious lifestyles than the average person does in their entire lifetime. A groundbreaking report from Oxfam, titled “Carbon Inequality Kills,” reveals the extent of emissions’ contribution to inequality. Emissions from private jets, yachts, and polluting investments worsen global inequality and climate crises. This urgent analysis arrives just ahead of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. It highlights the accelerating threat of climate breakdown driven largely by the super-rich.
THE STARK REALITY OF CARBON EMISSIONS
The findings in Oxfam’s report are alarming. If current emissions trends continue, the world’s carbon budget—the amount of CO2 that can be emitted without exceeding a 1.5°C increase in global temperatures—will be depleted within four years. If everyone emitted carbon like the richest 1 percent, the budget would be gone in under five months. The lifestyle emissions of billionaires dramatically exacerbate this issue. Their private jets and superyachts contribute significantly. If everyone emitted at that level, the carbon budget would vanish in just two days.
Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director, emphasizes this disparity: “The super-rich are treating our planet like their personal playground. They are setting it ablaze for pleasure and profit. Their dirty investments and luxury toys aren’t just symbols of excess; they’re a direct threat to people and the planet.”
BILLIONAIRE LIFESTYLES VS. AVERAGE CITIZENS
According to Oxfam’s analysis, the world’s richest billionaires averaged 184 private jet flights per year. This equates to 425 hours spent in the air. Their total emissions during this time are equivalent to what an average person would generate in 300 years. Additionally, their yachts emitted as much carbon as the average person would in 860 years.
For instance, Jeff Bezos’ two private jets were airborne for nearly 25 days in a year. They emitted as much carbon as the average Amazon employee would in 207 years. The Walton family’s three superyachts produced as much carbon as approximately 1,714 Walmart workers in a year.
The report reveals that the emissions from billionaires’ investments are even more staggering. On average, their investment emissions are around 340 times greater than their emissions from luxury travel. Alarmingly, nearly 40% of billionaire investments are in highly polluting sectors, including oil, mining, and shipping.
IMPACT OF BILLIONAIRE EMISSIONS ON GLOBAL INEQUALITY, HUNGER, AND DEATH
Oxfam highlights three critical areas adversely affected by the emissions of the wealthiest 1%: global inequality, hunger, and premature death.
- Global Inequality: The emissions from the richest 1% have resulted in a global economic output decline of $2.9 trillion since 1990. Low- and lower-middle-income countries are projected to lose about 2.5% of their cumulative GDP by 2050, while high-income countries see economic gains.
- Hunger: The carbon emissions of billionaires have caused crop losses that could have provided enough calories for 14.5 million people annually from 1990 to 2023. This figure is expected to rise to 46 million by 2050, particularly affecting Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Death: A staggering 78% of excess deaths due to heat-related causes by 2120 will occur in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
As young climate activist Marinel Sumook Ubaldo poignantly expresses, “A child shouldn’t need to be strong. I just wanted to be safe, to play in the sand —but I was always fleeing when storms came.”
THE CALL FOR ACTION AHEAD OF COP29
Oxfam’s report urges immediate action from governments:
- Reduce Emissions of the Rich: Governments must impose permanent income and wealth taxes on the top 1%. They should ban or impose punitive taxes on carbon-intensive luxury consumption. Governments also need to regulate corporations to drastically reduce emissions.
- Hold Rich Polluters Accountable: Climate finance needs are escalating, especially in Global South countries. A wealth tax on billionaires could generate at least $1.7 trillion annually, with an extra $100 billion from taxes on polluting investments.
- Reimagine Economic Structures: The current economic system promotes wealth accumulation among the rich at the expense of sustainability. Governments should make sure that incomes of the top 10% do not exceed those of the bottom 40%.