The excessive carbon emissions of the world’s wealthiest individuals are accelerating climate change at an alarming rate, far beyond that which anyone could have imagined, according to a recent Oxfam report. Ironically, these elites face the least immediate risks from the global warming that they help to fuel. Most of the top 10% of earners reside in high-income countries, shielding them from the severe climate impacts that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income nations.
The global elite, owning private jets, superyachts, and stakes in polluting industries, are making it increasingly difficult to keep global warming below the critical 1.5°C target. Oxfam estimates that if everyone on Earth emitted as much CO₂ as an average billionaire, the remaining carbon budget necessary to maintain the threshold would be depleted in just two days. Just 50 of the world’s richest billionaires produce more CO2 emissions in less than three hours than any other ordinary British citizen does throughout their life.
Annually, the richest take about 184 private jet flights, spending 425 hours in the air and generating emissions equivalent to 300 years of an average person’s carbon footprint. To put this into perspective, the private jets of 23 ultra-wealthy people released an average of 2,074 tons of carbon dioxide annually, an amount that a person from the global poorest 50% would emit in 2,000 years.
As for superyachts, they are among the most environmentally damaging indulgences of the ultra-rich emitting as much carbon in one year as the average individual would over 860 years. At the same time, alarmingly, “the number of superyachts has more than doubled since 2000, with around 150 new launches every year,” the report noted. These vessels guzzle enormous amounts of fuel, not just for propulsion but also for air conditioning, swimming pools, and extensive onboard staff. For instance, 22% of emissions occur while the yachts are moored. Alex Maitland, a report co-author, pointed out:
“Superyachts are by far the most polluting toy a billionaire can own, except perhaps for a rocket ship.”
However, the damage caused by the elite extends beyond their luxury consumption. The greenhouse gas emissions linked to their investments far exceed those from their personal transport, being 340 times higher than the emissions from their yachts and jets combined. On average, the investment portfolios of 50 billionaires exceeded almost twice the level of pollution caused by investments in the main US stock index. Nearly 40% of their holdings are in high-emissions sectors such as oil, mining, shipping, and cement.
The consequences of this carbon inequality are devastating. The Oxfam report estimates that during the last 30 years of emissions, the world’s richest population have caused global economic losses of US$2.9 trillion. The report also states that between 2015 and 2019, the consumption emissions of the richest 1% will lead to 1.5 million excess deaths over the next century.
The excessive emissions generated by the world’s wealthiest 1% over four decades from 1990 to 2030 will cause severe economic harm and low- and lower-middle-income countries are projected to suffer economic losses amounting to US$44 trillion from 1990 to 2050. In contrast, high-income countries are expected to gain US$5.8 trillion in economic benefits.
Chiara Liguori, Oxfam’s senior climate justice policy adviser, commenting on the outcomes of the report, said:
“The evidence is clear: the extreme emissions of the richest, from their luxury lifestyles and even more from their polluting investments, are fueling inequality, hunger and threatening lives. It’s not just unfair that their reckless pollution is fueling the very crisis threatening our collective future – it’s lethal.”
