Did you know that China is the country that exports the most?
A recent study published in Nature Climate Change revealed that society tends to underestimate the carbon footprints of the wealthiest while overestimating the emissions of the poorest.
Policymakers could enforce strict rules on polluting industries and incentivize green investments.
Conducted by researchers from Copenhagen Business School, the University of Basel, and the University of Cambridge, the study surveyed 4,000 participants across Denmark, India, Nigeria, and the United States.
The stakes could not be higher. The choices made today will determine whether humanity can secure a sustainable future or succumb to the consequences of inaction.
Sources: (Oxfam) (United Nations) (Nature Climate Change) (Asia Financial)
See also: How climate change already impacts our daily lives
Addressing the emissions of the ultra-wealthy is both an environmental and moral imperative. Oxfam's findings emphasize the need to target the largest emitters while protecting the most vulnerable.
The emissions tied to the lifestyles of the ultra-rich are as extravagant as they are environmentally catastrophic. Private jets, superyachts, and polluting investments drive emissions far beyond sustainable levels.
Oxfam's insights reveal a stark disparity in carbon footprints. To meet critical climate goals, each person’s CO2 emissions must be limited to 2.1 tons per year or less. However, the global 1% emits an average of 76 tons annually—equivalent to 0.209 tons per day.
Oxfam's report highlights that between 2018 and 2028, the investments of the 50 wealthiest individuals alone will cause US$250 billion in economic damage by 2050—a figure comparable to the GDP of Ecuador or Bulgaria.
The findings show that wealthier individuals often support climate policies like carbon taxes or carbon capture investments, potentially due to higher education levels and greater financial ability to bear associated costs. However, translating this support into meaningful action remains challenging as government priorities frequently align with elite interests.
The environmental recklessness of the ultra-wealthy comes at an enormous cost. Oxfam’s research estimates that from 1990 to 2050, the economic damage caused by the top 1% will total $52.6 trillion.
Governments could impose progressive taxes on the super-rich to fund climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.
"This is theft—pure and simple," said Nafkote Dabi, Oxfam International's Climate Change Policy Lead. "A tiny few are robbing billions of people of their future to feed their insatiable greed."
"Governments need to stop pandering to the richest," said Dabi. "Rich polluters must be made to pay for the havoc they're wreaking on our planet. Leaders who fail to act are effectively choosing complicity in a crisis that threatens billions of lives."
In comparison, the average person in the poorest 50% of humanity has an annual carbon footprint of just 0.7 tons, well within the 2.1-ton limit. This means it would take someone in this group nearly three years (1,022 days) to use up their share of the annual carbon budget.
Oxfam's research shows that the richest 1%t, comprising 77 million individuals including billionaires, millionaires, and those earning over US$140,000 per year, are set to reduce their per capita consumption emissions by just 5% between 2015 and 2030.
At this rate, the wealthiest individuals exhausted their annual carbon allowance just 10 days into 2025.
Dubbed "Pollutocrat Day" by Oxfam, these findings underscore how the super-rich disproportionately drive climate breakdown with emissions that far exceed those of ordinary people and highlight the profound inequalities fueling the climate crisis.
Additionally, wealthier nations must fulfill their obligations by providing adequate climate finance to support the Global South. As global temperatures rise and climate disasters intensify, holding the wealthiest accountable is not just about fairness—it is about survival.
To address the outsized impact of the ultra-wealthy, Oxfam has proposed several bold measures.
Moreover, roughly 80% of the excess deaths due to heat are projected to occur in low- and lower-middle-income countries, with Southern Asia bearing 40% of this toll.
The wealthiest 1% are responsible for more than twice the carbon pollution of the poorest half of humanity combined, driving devastating consequences for vulnerable communities and efforts to combat the climate crisis.
The majority of these losses—over US$44 trillion—will be borne by low- and lower-middle-income countries, which have contributed the least to global emissions.
These nations, already grappling with rising temperatures, crop failures, and extreme weather, face disproportionate economic and social burdens. By 2050, the emissions of the richest 1% will result in crop losses sufficient to have fed at least 10 million people annually in Eastern and Southern Asia.
Prohibiting the most carbon-intensive luxury assets could significantly reduce emissions.
This falls far short of the 97% cuts needed to align with the global per capita level compatible with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement.
This milestone, confirmed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, signals the onset of catastrophic climate impacts unless emissions are curbed immediately. Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus, warned, "Without swift and decisive action, the trajectory of our future climate will be increasingly perilous."
Governments must take decisive steps to reduce carbon inequality. Measures such as taxing wealth, curbing excessive consumption, and regulating investments can drive meaningful change.
The urgency of addressing these disparities is underscored by recent climate milestones. In 2024, global temperatures exceeded the critical 1.5°C threshold above pre-industrial levels for the first time.
The 2024 UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) Emissions Gap Report highlights the stark choices we face: limit global warming to 1.5°C, struggle to adapt to 2°C, or face catastrophic consequences at 2.6°C and beyond.
For example, the emissions from private jets and yachts owned by a single billionaire over 23 days, surpass the average lifetime carbon emissions of someone in the poorest 50% of humanity.
What's more, the richest 1% exhausted their fair share of the 2025 global carbon budget—the permissible CO2 emissions to stay within 1.5°C of warming—within the first 10 days of the year. This revelation underscores the urgent need for climate action and highlights the staggering inequality driving the climate emergency. In this gallery, we delve into the sobering reality of their reckless decisions and explore what these choices mean for the future of our planet.
Richest 1% used their 2025 global carbon budget in 10 days
New Oxfam report reveals sobering reality of our planet's future
LIFESTYLE Carbon footprint
The future of our planet is in critical shape as global warming threatens to disrupt lives, economies, and ecosystems, with the window for action rapidly closing. The disparity in carbon emissions between the wealthiest and the poorest has never been more glaring. According to a new study by Oxfam International, fifty of the world's wealthiest individuals emit more carbon in just 90 minutes than the average person does in their entire lifetime.
What's more, the richest 1% exhausted their fair share of the 2025 global carbon budget—the permissible CO2 emissions to stay within 1.5°C of warming—within the first 10 days of the year. This revelation underscores the urgent need for climate action and highlights the staggering inequality driving the climate emergency. In this gallery, we delve into the sobering reality of their reckless decisions and explore what these choices mean for the future of our planet.