Oxfam claims that the richest 1% in the world pollutes the environment more than the poorest two-thirds

Article content

The world’s richest 1 percent produced as much carbon emissions as the poorest two-thirds in 2019, according to a new Oxfam report that looks at the lavish lifestyles of the rich and their investments in highly polluting industries.

The report paints a dire picture as climate experts and activists fight to curb global warming that is devastating vulnerable and often poor communities in Southeast Asia, East Africa and elsewhere. This month marks a long-awaited milestone for planet Earth, as scientists on Friday recorded the average global temperature more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Article content

“The ultra-rich are plundering and polluting the planet to the point of destruction, leaving humanity suffocating in extreme heat, floods and drought,” Amitabh Behar, acting executive director of Oxfam International, said in a press release on Monday. . He called on world leaders to “end the era of extreme wealth.”

According to an Oxfam report, the carbon emissions of the world’s richest 1 percent exceeded the amount generated by all global car and road transport in 2019, while the richest 10 percent accounted for half of global emissions carbon that year. Meanwhile, Oxfam said emissions from the richest 1 percent were enough to put almost a million wind turbines out of commission each year.

“None of this is surprising, but it is, you know, critical,” said David Schlossberg, director of the Sydney Environment Institute at the University of Sydney. As political actors head to this year’s U.N. climate conference, Schlossberg said Oxfam’s report offers a different way to discuss climate justice that goes beyond the sensitive issue of how certain industrialized countries contribute to global warming.

Article content

“This has been a huge climate justice issue: countries don’t want to pay for what they’ve done in the past,” he said. “So the interesting thing here is, well, let’s not talk about historical responsibility, but about current responsibility.”

Oxfam’s recommended solution is not new, but climate activists are still fighting for it: tax the rich and use that money to invest in renewable energy.

According to the Oxfam report, which calls for a new wave of taxes on corporations and billionaires, “a 60 per cent tax on the income of the richest 1 per cent would reduce emissions by more than the UK’s total emissions and raise 6.4 trillion dollars.” One year to pay for the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

In recent years, some have also floated the idea of ​​taxing high-carbon behaviors, such as the purchase or use of private jets, yachts and luxury cars that run on fossil fuels.

Over the summer, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) proposed a tax on private jet travel, asking the wealthy to “pay their fair share” of the environmental costs. Last year, Canada imposed a 10% tax on the purchase of planes, boats and luxury cars. In recent years, celebrities including Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Drake and Taylor Swift have faced public backlash for using private jets, with Jenner’s plane once clocking in at a 14-minute flight.

“The public understands inequality and understands the inequality of the impact of climate change,” Schlossberg said. “…The imposition of specific taxes on high-emission behaviors has support from the general public, so I can see in several countries growing pressure to do something.

Our website is the place to get the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, long reads and provocative commentary. Bookmark nationalpost.com and subscribe to our newsletters here.

Share this article in your social network