Climate and inequalities, the Oxfam report:«The richest 1% of the population emits the same CO2 as 5 billion people»

The topic will also arrive at Cop28 in Dubai next week, where negotiations on the "Loss and Damage" fund will resume

How much does each of us have an impact on the CO2 emissions that cause global warming?The answer varies based on several factors:lifestyle, our diet, the way we move, but above all income.The report proves it Climate Equality published in recent days by Oxfam, an international non-profit confederation committed to fighting poverty.In 2019, the dossier reveals, the richest 1% of the world population was responsible for a share of CO2 emissions equal to that produced by 5 billion people, i.e. two thirds of humanity.The report was produced in collaboration with the Stockholm Environment Institute (Sei) and offers an analysis of emissions levels for different income groups in 2019, the year for which the most recent statistics are available.The main data that emerges is that 77 million people – the richest 1% in terms of income – are responsible for 16% of global emissions due to consumption.Likewise, the richest 10% of the world's population are responsible for around half of global emissions.

The relationship between climate change and inequalities

The latest Oxfam report only confirms the close link between climate change and social inequalities.A topic that will also end up on the negotiating table of Cop28, the conference of the parties chaired by the UN which will take place from 30 November to 12 December in Dubai.«For years we have fought to create the conditions for a just transition that ends the fossil fuel era, saving millions of lives and the planet, but achieving this crucial goal will be impossible if we do not end the growing concentration of income and wealth », comments Oxfam Italia spokesperson Francesco Petrelli.To understand how much the concentration of wealth affects greenhouse gas emissions, the Oxfam report offers some other data.The pollution produced in a year by those who are part of the richest 1% of the global population is equal to what a person belonging to the remaining 99% of humanity would produce in 1,500 years.Or again:the annual emissions of that same 1% effectively cancel out the beneficial effect that the use of almost a million wind turbines would have on the climate.

Climate justice at Cop28

In the relationship between climate and inequalities, injustice is not limited to the comparison between those who emit more and those who emit less.Often, it also concerns the direct consequences of climate change.The countries that have contributed least to causing global warming are in fact those that suffer its effects the most.Partly because they often find themselves in areas of the planet more exposed to extreme weather events, and partly because they do not have sufficient resources to limit the damage and develop an adaptation plan.And it is precisely for this reason that for years we have been hearing more and more often about Loss and Damage, a fund to compensate for losses and damages suffered by countries that contribute least to global warming but suffer its worst consequences.Last year, Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh ended with a unexpected agreement for the creation of a fund Loss and Damage within a year.The commitment was not kept and now all eyes are on COP28 in Dubai.

Photo credits:EPA | The protest of some activists in Marrakech, Morocco, on the occasion of the annual meeting of the World Bank (12 October 2023)