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The richest 1% of the world’s population was responsible for emitting more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the poorest half of the world between 1990 and 2015, according to new research.
Carbon dioxide emissions increased by 60% over the 25-year period, but the increase in emissions from the richest 1% was three times greater than the increase in emissions from the poorest half.
The report, compiled by Oxfam and the Stockholm Environment Institute, warned that rampant overconsumption and the rich world’s addiction to high-carbon transport are depleting the world’s “carbon budget.”
Such a concentration of carbon emissions in the hands of the wealthy means that, despite bringing the world to the brink of climate catastrophe, through the burning of fossil fuels, we have still failed to improve the lives of billions, said Tim. Gore, head of policy, promotion. and research at Oxfam International.
“The global carbon budget has been wasted to expand the consumption of the already wealthy, instead of improving humanity,” he told The Guardian. “A finite amount of carbon can be added to the atmosphere if we want to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. We need to make sure that carbon is used in the best way. “
The richest 10% of the world’s population, comprising around 630 million people, was responsible for about 52% of global emissions over the 25-year period, the study showed.
Globally, the richest 10% are those with incomes over $ 35,000 (£ 27,000) a year, and the richest 1% are people who earn more than $ 100,000.
• Temperatures stayed above 34 ° C for six consecutive days last week in the UK, the longest period since comparable records began in the 1960s.
• Spring was the sunniest on record in the UK, even as millions of people were trapped inside due to the closure. There were more hours of sunshine than in any year since the series began in 1929, and May was the driest in more than a century.
• February was the wettest on record in the UK, with 202.1mm of rain as storms hit the country.
• July was unusually wet and cool
• In April, meteorologists predicted that 2020 would be the hottest year in the world since records began.
• Last year was the hottest in Europe on record, with 11 of the 12 hottest years on record in the last two decades
• Siberia has experienced temperatures more than 10 ° C above average this summer, in an Arctic heat wave that has alarmed scientists.
• Last summer, Arctic sea ice reached its second lowest level on record. This year may break records, and recent research suggests that Arctic sea ice is on track to disappear in summer by 2035.
• Antarctica reached a record 20.75 ° C in February, recorded on Seymour Island by Brazilian scientists, at the end of its summer.
• The last decade was the hottest on earth.
Carbon dioxide emissions accumulate in the atmosphere, causing warming, and temperature increases of more than 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels would cause widespread damage to natural systems. That buildup gives the world a finite carbon budget for how much carbon dioxide is safe to produce, which scientists warn will be depleted within a decade at the current rate.
Left unchecked, in the next decade, the carbon emissions of the world’s richest 10% would be enough to raise levels above the point that would likely increase temperatures by 1.5 ° C, even if the rest of the world reduced your emissions to zero immediately. , according to Monday’s report.
Oxfam argues that it is unfair to continue to allow rich countries to emit much more than those living in poverty. While the world is moving towards renewable energy and phasing out fossil fuels, any emissions that continue to be needed during the transition would be better used to try to improve poor people’s access to basic services.
“The best possible and morally defensible purpose is for all humanity to live a decent life, but [the carbon budget] It has been used by the already rich to get richer, ”Gore said.
He pointed to transportation as one of the main drivers of emissions growth, and people in rich countries are showing an increasing tendency to drive high-emission cars, such as SUVs, and take more flights. Oxfam wants more taxes on high-carbon luxury goods, such as a frequent traveler tax, to channel investment towards low-carbon alternatives and improve the lot of the poor.
“It’s not about people who have a family vacation a year, but about people who take long-haul flights every month; it’s a pretty small group of people, ”Gore said.
While the coronavirus crisis caused a temporary drop in emissions, the overall impact on the carbon budget is likely to be negligible, according to Gore, as emissions have recovered after lockdowns around the world. However, the experience of dealing with the pandemic should make people more aware of the need to try to avoid a future catastrophe, he said.
Caroline Lucas, a Green Party MP, said: “This is a clear illustration of the profound injustice at the heart of the climate crisis. Those who are much more exposed and vulnerable to its impacts have done the least to contribute to the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing them. The UK has a moral responsibility here, not just for its disproportionately high historical emissions, but as the host of next year’s critical UN climate summit. We need to go further and faster to reach net zero. “
The world’s governments are meeting virtually for the 75th UN general assembly this week, with the climate crisis high on the agenda. Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, is expected to lay out his vision for the upcoming UN climate summit, called Cop26, to be convened in Glasgow in November 2021, after the coronavirus crisis forced the event to be delayed. one year.
As host nation, the UK government is urged to set its plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, a goal enshrined in law last year, but for which there are still few national policies.
