New report: extreme climate inequality

The world's richest 1% emit twice as much carbon dioxide as the poorest half of the world's population.

Our new report "Confronting Carbon Inequality" is based on research carried out together with the Stockholm Environment Institute and is released on the occasion of the UN General Assembly debate on climate change.

The report examines the consumption emissions of different income groups between 1990 and 2015 - 25 years during which emissions doubled.

The report shows that:
- The richest one percent of the world emits more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the poorest half of the world's population.
- The richest one percent accounts for around 15% of global emissions.
- The richest one percent emits more carbon dioxide than all EU citizens combined.
- Over this period, the richest ten percent have consumed one third of the remaining global carbon budget, compared to the poorest half of the world's population who consumed 4%. The carbon budget is the amount of carbon dioxide that can be released into the atmosphere without causing global temperatures to rise above 1.5°C - the target set in the Paris Agreement to avoid the very worst impacts of climate change.
- Annual emissions increased by 60% between 1990 and 2015. The richest 5% accounted for over a third (37%) of this increase. The richest one percent's emissions increases were three times higher than those of the poorest 50 percent.

"The overconsumption of the rich minority is exacerbating the climate crisis, but it is young people and people in poverty who are suffering the consequences. Extreme climate inequality is a direct consequence of decades of unequal and climate-damaging economic growth pursued by those in power."

Tim Gore, Head of Oxfam's climate work

Another recent study shows that the richest 10 % use almost half (45 %) of all energy linked to land transportation and three quarters of all energy linked to aviation. Transportation accounts for about a quarter of global emissions today, while SUVs were the second biggest reason for the increase in global carbon emissions between 2010 and 2018.

While no one is immune to climate change, people living in poverty are the hardest hit. In 2020, the climate crisis has contributed to cyclones in Bangladesh and India, a devastating locust invasion in several African countries, and unprecedented fires and heatwaves in the US and Australia.

If emissions are not reduced and emissions inequality is left unchecked, the 1.5°C carbon budget will be exhausted by 2030. Climate inequality is so extreme that the richest 10% would exhaust the carbon budget by 2033 even if all other emissions worldwide were reduced to zero.

The report also points to the need for policymakers to work to reduce consumption emissions. A large share of the richest people's emissions come from imported consumption that is not included in national emissions statistics in the country they live in.

"Sweden and other countries need to introduce measures and targets to reduce consumption emissions, including those imported from other countries. It is important that the government and its partners move forward with the work of setting targets for this as promised."

Robert Höglund, Head of Communications Oxfam Sweden

According to Oxfam's report, the emissions of the richest 10% need to be reduced tenfold by 2030 to reach the 1.5 degree target. If the richest 10% were only to reduce their emissions to the average of EU citizens, global emissions would fall by around a quarter.

To address the climate crisis, policymakers need to tackle the emissions caused by the world's richest individuals while supporting poor communities suffering from its effects.