A “polluting” lifestyle is largely responsible for excess CO2 emissions worldwide, according to the report which calls on governments to “make rich polluters pay”.
The paper, titled “Carbon Inequality Kills,” argues that 50 of the richest people on the planet emit more carbon in an hour and a half than the average person in their entire lifetime through the their investments, private planes and yachts.
“The 50 people named are part of the Bloomberg list of billionaires,” but “they are not the 50 richest,” explained Julie McClatchie, a political analyst at Oxfam-Québec, in an interview with The Canadian Press.
She pointed out that Oxfam International selected “five billionaires from the wealthiest regions to create a global sample”.
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the Walton family
Among the richest people in the world who contribute to the climate crisis, according to Oxfam, is the Walton family, the heiress of Walmart stores.
According to the report, the Walton family owns three luxury yachts that, in 12 months, produced as much carbon as approximately 1,714 people who worked in Walmart stores.
Also according to the report, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’ two private jets spent almost 25 days in the air in a year and emitted as much carbon as an Amazon employee in the United States issued in 207 years old.
The document also states that Elon Musk appears to have two private jets that together produce 5,497 tons of CO2 per year.
Oxfam data shows that the private jets of 23 of the richest people emit an average of 2,074 tonnes of carbon each year, which would be equivalent to 2,000 years of greenhouse gas emissions for one person which is part of the poorest half of the world.
Emissions from private jets and yachts, however, are “small in total emissions,” according to HEC Montreal’s Energy Sector Management Chair holder, Pierre-Olivier Pineau.
On the other hand, the professor said after reading the report, “If everyone behaved in the same way as the rich, the carbon budget available to us would go down at a rapid pace and, of course, the rich have much more. responsible for global emissions due to their lifestyle.
Abolish the carbon budget
The Oxfam report states that “if the world maintains its current emissions, the carbon budget (the amount of CO2 that can still be added to the atmosphere without global temperatures rising above the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius) will have disappear in about four years,” but “if everyone started emitting as much carbon as the private jets and superyachts of the average billionaire in the Oxfam study, the exhausted budget in two days.”
Some of the richest people in the world release CO2 “without regard for others and without considering the global effects of their toxic pollution.” These people, according to Oxfam, are “polluters “.
Disputed investment releases
Oxfam points out that the GHG emissions of the wealthiest are partly due to their luxurious lifestyles, but mostly due to their investments.
“The average emissions from the investments of 50 of the world’s richest billionaires are about 340 times those from their private planes and yachts combined,” according to the report.
In its approach, Oxfam attributes the CO2 emissions of companies to their shareholders.
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“We looked at the scope 1 and scope 2 distributions of every company in which billions are invested. Areas 1 and 2 are the scales of direct and indirect emissions from various companies in various sectors in which billions are invested. For example, we calculated that if a billionaire had a 10% investment in company X, we take a responsibility that is also 10% of the emissions financed,” explained Oxfam’s political analyst Julie McClatchie.
But energy policy expert Pierre-Olivier Pineau believes that this methodology ensures that emissions from investments by wealthy people are largely overestimated.
According to him, issuing the distributions produced by a company only to its shareholders or owners “is to overlook the fact that these companies distribution of emissions to satisfy consumers. Owners have some responsibility, but not full responsibility for corporate emissions. It is a shared responsibility, both at the level of consumers and other economic players.”
Make the payout Ultra-rich
As a result of their GHG emissions, the ultra-rich contribute disproportionately to the climate crisis, which promotes inequality, we read in the report.
Oxfam calls on various governments to “introduce permanent taxes on income and wealth for the richest 1%”.
The NGO also wants a ban or heavy tax on carbon-intensive luxury goods, such as private jets.
In addition, Oxfam wants to “establish a progressive tax system on the income and wealth of the richest people and on the profits of large companies, starting with a tax on surplus profits”, to respect and increase international climate finance commitments.
“The report recommends making polluters pay the price for their pollution and, if we did that, we would have a way of having a fairer world, for the benefit of all”, because “with less inequality, we have a less stable world. ,” said HEC Montréal Energy Department Management Chair holder Pierre-Olivier Pineau.
The Oxfam report is being published ten days before the start of the COP29 on climate which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
2024-10-28 22:17:00
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