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- Rich people generate more CO2 emissions than poor people.
- A report from the development organization Oxfam shows how big the differences are.
- The richest percentage of the world’s population is responsible for more than twice as many climate-damaging carbon dioxide emissions as the poorest half of humanity combined.
- Oxfam calls in the report to reduce the CO2 consumption of the wealthy, to invest more in public infrastructure and for the economy to be climate-friendly.
The report focuses on the years 1990 to 2015, which are important for climate policy and in which emissions doubled worldwide. The richest ten percent (630 million) were responsible for more than half (52 percent) of CO2 emissions during the period, Oxfam reported.
Only the richest one percent (63 million) consumed 15 percent, while the poorest half of the world’s population was only responsible for seven percent.
In the run-up to the 75th UN General Assembly in New York, the organization is calling for a reduction in the CO2 emissions of the rich, in particular to tackle the climate crisis.
Big scissors in Germany too
In Germany, according to Oxfam, the richest ten percent or 8.3 million people are responsible for 26 percent of German CO2 emissions in the period under review.
The poorest half of the German population only consumed slightly more (29 percent), but this is five times as many people. One lever in the fight against climate change is traffic, especially air traffic.
Oxfam is particularly critical of SUVs in road traffic, which were the second largest emitters between 2010 and 2018.
