Germana Carillo According to Oxfam, the richest 1% have burned their share of the annual global carbon budget – the amount of CO2 that can be added to the atmosphere without pushing the world beyond 1.5°C of warming – already in the first 10 days of 2025.
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A new report from Oxfam finds that the “excessive lifestyles” of the world’s richest people are disproportionately driving climate change. In just ten days, the average member of this elite group has already emitted 2.1 metric tons (approximately 4,630 pounds) of carbon dioxide-the amount they should be producing over an entire year.
It would take the average person in the bottom 50% of global income three years to generate that amount of emissions. This alarming milestone, branded “Pollutocrat Day” by Oxfam, gives an indication of how the climate crisis is powered by the super-rich, whose carbon footprint dwarfs that of normal people.
The disproportionate impact of the wealthy
The wealthiest 1% is responsible for more than double the carbon pollution of the poorest 50% of humanity. This inequality has devastating consequences for vulnerable communities and efforts to address the climate emergency.
Recent data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service showed that 2024 was the first year global temperatures had risen above 1.5°F-or approximately 2.7°F-above pre-industrial levels. As temperatures rise, extreme weather events like droughts, hurricanes, and heatwaves worsen. All these add to food insecurity, habitat loss of wildlife, the melting of glaciers, increase in sea levels, and other intense impacts-most recently seen in California’s devastating wildfires.
How much does the top 1% consume?
By 2030, Oxfam says, the global population is projected to reach 8.5 billion. If carbon emissions remain as they are today, then under the targets of the Paris Agreement, every person would be able to emit only 2.1 metric tons (4,630 pounds) per year.
However, the top 1%, about 77 million people pulling in over $140,000 per year, burn an average 76 metric tons (167,550 pounds) of carbon dioxide per year. In order to meet the Paris goals, this top portion would have to cut their emissions by 97% by 2030.
The implications of inaction are stark: by 2050, the emissions from this rich 1% are on track to cause crop losses that could otherwise feed at least 10 million people a year in East and South Asia.
What to do?
Oxfam wants all governments to implement permanent income and wealth taxes against the richest 1% and ban or significantly tax highly polluting luxury items such as private jets and superyachts.
