Explained: Recent Oxfam Report On Carbon Emissions

According to a report by Oxfam titled Carbon Billionaires: The Investment Emissions of the World's Richest People, when compared to the average person, the world's wealthiest individuals emit "unsustainable amounts of carbon."

Every person on Earth has a carbon footprint, which can be broken down into "personal consumption emissions, emissions through government spending, and emissions linked to investments," according to this report.

Why is the report important?

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The report, which has major ramifications for determining climate policy, is released as negotiations to reach the internationally agreed-upon target of keeping global temperatures below 1.5¡ãC are taking place at COP 27 in Egypt. It critically examines the connection between the climate crisis and economic inequality.

The idea is that because billionaires have substantial wealth and ownership stakes in well-known multinational companies, they have the ability to shape how those companies act. According to the report, it is crucial for world leaders to make sure that "those who emit the most carbon also do the most to reduce those emissions," as people from low and middle-income backgrounds have little control over their energy choices.

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The ways in which the actions of investors in the global economy affect our environment can also be measured. The choice of investors as to whether to finance fossil fuel and related industries or invest in businesses that do not reduce carbon emissions can further affect the intensity of future emissions.

What are the "personal consumption emissions" of billionaires?

In addition to their investments, billionaires also accrue debt through their personal consumption. For instance, in 2018, the private yachts, aircraft, helicopters, and homes of 20 billionaires contributed to emissions that, on average, resulted in 8,194 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2e). The report emphasised that a single space flight can emit as much carbon dioxide as a typical person will in their lifetime, as is clear from the billionaire space race.

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"The richest 1% (roughly 63 million people) alone were responsible for 15% of cumulative emissions and that they were emitting 35 times the level of CO2e compatible with the 1.5¡ãC by 2030 goal of the Paris Agreement," according to research done by Oxfam and the Stockholm Environment Institute in 2021.

How can their carbon footprint be reduced?

According to the report, businesses are failing to reduce emissions and stop climate change. They heavily rely on using land in low-income countries to plant trees in order to achieve the 2050 climate change plans of "net-zero" total carbon emissions, but the report identifies some problems with that strategy. ¡°In 2021 Oxfam revealed that using land alone to remove the world¡¯s carbon emissions to achieve ¡®net zero¡¯ by 2050 would require at least 1.6bn hectares of new forests, an area equivalent to five times the size of India,¡± it highlighted.

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No state in the world currently requires corporations to reduce their carbon footprints, according to the report. Governments are in charge of developing climate policies that support a green transition, primarily by regulating corporate investments in highly polluting industries.

They should strive to establish strict and legally binding GHG reduction targets and call for increased transparency. Governments should also consider the rights of workers, the preservation of their means of subsistence, and the interests of marginalised groups who suffer the worst effects of climate change when making policy decisions.

The report's most important conclusion is that a wealth tax on the wealthiest people could help meet developing nations' urgent needs for climate finance and "raise hundreds of billions of dollars to help and protect those already suffering the effects of catastrophic climate change."