2023-11-20 07:20:50
Published on Nov 20, 2023 at 8:20 a.m.Updated Nov. 20, 2023 at 8:21 a.m.
Not everyone is equally responsible for global warming. The richest 1% on the planet emit as much greenhouse gas as two-thirds of the poorest population, or around 5 billion people, underlines an Oxfam report published on Sunday.
“The richer you are, the easier it is to reduce your personal emissions and those linked to your investments,” says Max Lawson, co-author of the report. “You don’t need a third car, a fourth vacation or […] to invest in the cement industry. »
The NGO’s report, “Climate Equality: A Planet for the 99%,” draws on research compiled by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and analyzes consumption-related emissions associated with different income categories until 2019.
Among the main findings is that the richest 1%, or 77 million people, are responsible for 16% of global emissions linked to their consumption. This is the same proportion as 66% of the poorest population, or 5.11 billion people.
A tax on investments
The income threshold for being part of the richest 1% has been adjusted by country according to purchasing power parity – for example, in the United States, the threshold is 140,000 dollars (128,000 euros) and the Kenyan equivalent of around $40,000. Thus, in France, in ten years, the richest 1% have emitted as much carbon in one year as the poorest 50%.
“We believe that unless governments adopt a progressive climate policy, where the people who emit the most are asked to make the biggest sacrifices, we will never get good policies in this area,” said Max Lawson.
The NGO notably proposes the establishment of a tax for people making more than 10 flights per year or a tax on non-ecological investments which would be much higher than that on ecological investments.
Source AFP
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