The carbon emissions of the population group that constitutes the richest 1% in the world should exceed by 30 times the limit that would be necessary to maintain the level of emissions that would prevent a global temperature increase of 1.5ºC by 2030, found a study by Oxfam NGO.
At the same time, the climate footprint of the poorest 50% in the world is expected to remain well below the threshold until 2030, according to the survey released on Thursday (4) at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26), which runs in Glasgow, Scotland, until 12 November.
The study entitled “Carbon inequality 2030 – Per capita consumption emissions and the 1.5°C target” was commissioned by Oxfam and was based on work by the European Environmental Policy Institute (IEEP) and the Stockholm Environmental Institute (KNOW).
The 2015 Paris Agreement set a goal of a maximum increase of 1.5ºC in global temperature by 2030, compared to the pre-industrial era, but current emissions reduction promises fall far short of what is needed, the study indicates.
In order for this desired limit to be reached, each inhabitant of the planet would have to emit an average of only 2.3 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year until 2030, or about half of the current emissions of each human being.
“Small elite seems to have a free pass to pollute”
Among the main conclusions of the study are that, in 2030, the poorest half of the world’s population will continue to emit far less than the level proposed for the target limit of 1.5ºC, while the richest 1% – which represents a smaller population than Germany – is on its way to releasing 70 tonnes of CO2 per person per year, if current consumption continues.
In total, this richest 1% will be responsible for 16% of total emissions by 2030 (in 1990, they were 13%). On the other hand, the poorest 50% will be in 2030 releasing an average of one ton of CO2 per annum.
“A small elite seem to have a free pass to pollute,” comments Nafkote Dabi, who heads Oxfam’s climate policy. “Its excessive emissions are fueling extreme weather conditions around the world and jeopardizing the international goal of limiting global warming.”
“The emissions of the richest 1% in the world could put us above the target set for 2030. This would be catastrophic for those who are in a situation of greater vulnerability, who are already facing storms, hunger and helplessness,” said Dabi.
Hundreds of private jets at COP26
The study emphasizes that the task of maintaining the stipulated 1.5ºC target is not being hampered by the consumption of the vast majority of the planet’s inhabitants, but by the excessive emissions of an extremely exclusive minority. Among the report’s messages is a call for governments to “restrict luxury carbon consumption” of private jets, yachts and space travel.
This is a very direct criticism of the COP26 participants themselves: several world leaders and personalities arrived at the climate conference in private jets, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos and dozens of executives from sectors that promote renewable energy. The British daily Daily Mail counted more than 400 private jets, which would represent 13 thousand tons of CO2, the equivalent of the amount issued annually by more than 1,600 Britons.
Bezos, by the way, was also the target of criticism in relation to his space adventures. In early 2021, the Miliarary went into space on his New Shepard rocket, Richard Branson went into space on his Virgin Galactic, and Elon Musk’s company promises to take humans to Mars. The emissions from a single 11-minute spaceflight amount to at least 75 tons, which would surpass the lifetime emissions of the poorest 1 billion on Earth.
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