1% Wealthy Emit as Much Carbon as Bottom 66%... "We Need to Levy Wealth Tax"

International Relief and Development Organization Oxfam Report

As awareness grows about greenhouse gases, the main culprits of climate change, an analysis revealed that the top 1% wealthiest individuals account for 16% of global carbon emissions.

International relief and development organization Oxfam released a report on the 20th explaining that, as of 2019, 77 million people in the top 1% income bracket emitted as much carbon as the 5 billion people in the bottom 66%. When expanding the range to the top 10% income group, their carbon emissions accounted for half of the total emissions.

It was estimated that it would take 1,500 years for individuals in the bottom 99% to use as much carbon as the wealthiest billionaire emits in one year.

Oxfam predicted that the carbon emissions of the top 1% in 2030 will exceed the emission targets set by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement by 22 times. Furthermore, if this trend continues, it is estimated that about 1.3 million people will die from climate change-related issues between 2020 and 2030.

Glaciers melting due to climate change.
[Image provided by NASA]

Earlier, the international community set a goal under the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement to limit the global average temperature rise to within 2 degrees Celsius, and ideally below 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels by 2100.

To achieve this goal, carbon emissions must be reduced by about 43% in 2030 compared to 2019. However, according to the United Nations' review of national carbon policies as of September last year, the actual reduction rate is expected to be only 3.6%. Climate scientists have long warned that a 1.5-degree rise is inevitable.

Oxfam stated that countries with severe inequalities in economics and other sectors suffer greater damage from climate change disasters and proposed a wealth tax as a solution to inequality. They also argued that new taxes targeting major global corporations and billionaires should be introduced to secure funds for transitioning to low-carbon renewable energy.

Amitabh Behar, Interim CEO of Oxfam International, said, "The super-rich are destroying and polluting the Earth, suffocating humanity with extreme heat, floods, and droughts," adding, "We realize that the fossil fuel era cannot end until the era of immense wealth comes to an end."