- A person from Europe’s richest 0.1% emits 53x more carbon than a person from the bottom 50%.
- Since 1990, Europe’s richest 0.1% have increased their share of total emissions by 14%, while the bottom half have cut their share by 27%.
- To stay within the 1.5°C limit, the richest 0.1% of Europeans would need to cut their per capita emissions by 99% by 2030.
Europe’s wealthiest are driving the bloc’s emissions while ordinary Europeans make the steepest cuts, according to new Oxfam research published ahead of COP30. This research also comes amidst the EU watering down its own climate ambition.
The report, “Climate Plunder: How a powerful few Europeans are locking the world into a climate disaster”, reveals that a person from Europe’s richest 0.1% produces as much carbon in a week than someone from the bottom 50% of Europeans does in a year. The same group of Europeans - approximately 450,000 people, equivalent to the population of Estonia’s capital, Tallinn - emit 53 times more carbon than someone from Europe’s bottom half.
Most Europeans belong to the richest 10% globally, a group responsible for around half of the world’s emissions. At a global level, if everyone emitted like the richest 0.1%, the world’s remaining carbon budget - the amount of carbon that can be emitted while avoiding climate breakdown - would be used up in less than 3 weeks.
At the same time, the carbon emissions of Europe’s wealthiest are on the rise. Between 1990 and 2022, EU emissions fell by about 21%, almost entirely due to cuts by the majority of Europeans. The bottom half of Europeans reduced their emissions by 27% and the middle 40% by 23%. Meanwhile, the richest 0.1% increased theirs by 14%.
“The research is clear. Europe’s wealthiest are in the driving seat of this climate crisis, while the rest carry the cost. Yet, instead of standing firm on its climate commitments, the EU is bending towards short-term business interests under the banner of competitiveness. Real innovation should accelerate climate action, not serve as an excuse to delay it”, said Julie Bos, Oxfam EU climate expert.
The super-rich are not only overconsuming carbon but are also investing in and profiting from the most polluting corporations. The average European billionaire’s investments generate 2.4 million tonnes of carbon a year, equivalent to flying around the world 12,000 times in a private jet.
Globally, almost 60% of billionaire investments are classified as being in high climate impact sectors such as oil or mining, meaning their investments emit two and a half times more than an average investment in the S&P Global 1,200. The emissions of the investment portfolios of just 308 billionaires totals more than the combined emissions of 118 countries.
The research shows that to align with EU’s Paris Agreement pledge of 1.5°C, a person from the EU’s bottom 50% would need to half their emissions. A person from the top 10% would need to cut by 90%, and from the top 0.1% by 99%.
This comes as the EU delays and dilutes its climate plans and environmental legislation.
“The EU needs to look beyond the next election cycle and think for the long-term. The data is there and points to the need for scaling up emission cuts, starting with those who can most afford it and who are spending it frivolously. Measures such as a tax on excessive carbon emissions – like superyachts and private jets – is a logical first step.” said Bos.
Notes aux rédactions
Download the EU report: “Climate Plunder: How a powerful few Europeans are locking the world into disaster” and the accompanying methodology note.
Read the global version, “Climate Plunder: How a powerful few are locking the world into disaster”.
Julie Bos is available interview and comment.
COP 30 marks ten years since the 2015 Paris Agreement. In that time, the world’s richest 1% have burnt through more than twice as much of the carbon budget than the poorest half of humanity combined.
Visit the Stockholm Environment Institute’s Emissions Inequality Dashboard for the latest emissions data by income group for over 190 countries.
EU leaders met last week as part of the EU Council. EU leaders agreed to pursue further “simplification” of climate and energy legislation, and to move ahead with the 2040 target and NDC, while leaving the details for ministers to finalise at the ENVI meeting scheduled for 4 November.
Ahead of COP30, Oxfam is calling on the EU and European government to:
- Adopt a fair approach to the global carbon budget that reflects the EU’s historical emissions and greater capacity to act.
- Before COP 30, the EU must commit to a new NDC climate plan, and a 2035 and 2040 climate target aligned to the 1.5°C pathway.
- Go significantly beyond their existing commitment and contribute to a global goal of $300USD annually for climate finance for low-income countries. This must be delivered mainly as grants, not loans, so it does not add more debt to low-income countries.
- Tax the rich. Raise taxes on top income and wealth and support the UN Convention on International Tax Cooperation. Revenue from these taxes can be channelled into climate action and anti-poverty measures.
- Tax excess corporate profits. Set a 50% tax on profits above normal levels – rate of returns over 10%. For fossil fuel companies, the tax should be set at a lower threshold with a 20% tax on returns over 3%, while exempting clean energy investments. This would make fossil fuels less profitable and clean energy more attractive.
- Cut luxury emissions. The richest should curb their wasteful consumption. Governments must introduce climate taxes, for example taxes on frequent flyers and luxury travel, along with raising taxes on, or banning, luxury products and activities that are excessively carbon-intensive and unnecessary, like SUVs, superyachts, private jets, and space tourism.
- Rethink progress. Move beyond gross domestic product (GDP) growth as an indicator of success. Put new measures of progress at the heart of public policy that focus on equality, human wellbeing, and long-term planetary health.
Globally, according to Oxfam’s 2024 report, “Carbon Inequality Kills: Why Curbing the Excessive Emissions of an Elite Few Can Create a Sustainable Planet for All”, the emissions of the richest 1% are enough to cause an estimated 1.3 million heat-related deaths by the end of the century, as well as $44 trillion of economic damage to low- and lower-middle-income countries by 2050.
Contact
Jade Tenwick | Brussels, Belgium | jade.tenwick@oxfam.org | mobile +32 473 56 22 60 | Personal (WhatsApp only and out of working hours) +32 484 81 22 94
Download the EU report: “Climate Plunder: How a powerful few Europeans are locking the world into disaster” and the accompanying methodology note.
Read the global version, “Climate Plunder: How a powerful few are locking the world into disaster”.
Julie Bos is available interview and comment.
COP 30 marks ten years since the 2015 Paris Agreement. In that time, the world’s richest 1% have burnt through more than twice as much of the carbon budget than the poorest half of humanity combined.
Visit the Stockholm Environment Institute’s Emissions Inequality Dashboard for the latest emissions data by income group for over 190 countries.
EU leaders met last week as part of the EU Council. EU leaders agreed to pursue further “simplification” of climate and energy legislation, and to move ahead with the 2040 target and NDC, while leaving the details for ministers to finalise at the ENVI meeting scheduled for 4 November.
Ahead of COP30, Oxfam is calling on the EU and European government to:
- Adopt a fair approach to the global carbon budget that reflects the EU’s historical emissions and greater capacity to act.
- Before COP 30, the EU must commit to a new NDC climate plan, and a 2035 and 2040 climate target aligned to the 1.5°C pathway.
- Go significantly beyond their existing commitment and contribute to a global goal of $300USD annually for climate finance for low-income countries. This must be delivered mainly as grants, not loans, so it does not add more debt to low-income countries.
- Tax the rich. Raise taxes on top income and wealth and support the UN Convention on International Tax Cooperation. Revenue from these taxes can be channelled into climate action and anti-poverty measures.
- Tax excess corporate profits. Set a 50% tax on profits above normal levels – rate of returns over 10%. For fossil fuel companies, the tax should be set at a lower threshold with a 20% tax on returns over 3%, while exempting clean energy investments. This would make fossil fuels less profitable and clean energy more attractive.
- Cut luxury emissions. The richest should curb their wasteful consumption. Governments must introduce climate taxes, for example taxes on frequent flyers and luxury travel, along with raising taxes on, or banning, luxury products and activities that are excessively carbon-intensive and unnecessary, like SUVs, superyachts, private jets, and space tourism.
- Rethink progress. Move beyond gross domestic product (GDP) growth as an indicator of success. Put new measures of progress at the heart of public policy that focus on equality, human wellbeing, and long-term planetary health.
Globally, according to Oxfam’s 2024 report, “Carbon Inequality Kills: Why Curbing the Excessive Emissions of an Elite Few Can Create a Sustainable Planet for All”, the emissions of the richest 1% are enough to cause an estimated 1.3 million heat-related deaths by the end of the century, as well as $44 trillion of economic damage to low- and lower-middle-income countries by 2050.
Jade Tenwick | Brussels, Belgium | jade.tenwick@oxfam.org | mobile +32 473 56 22 60 | Personal (WhatsApp only and out of working hours) +32 484 81 22 94