- A rich person contributes more to the climate crisis than a poor person:
○Between 1990 and 2015, the richest 1 per cent of humanity accounted for 15 per cent of cumulative emissions,
○while the poorest 50 per cent accounted for only 7 per cent,
○a new report by Oxfam International and the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) has found.
- According to the report titled Confronting Carbon Inequality:
○the richest 10 per cent did so by 31 per cent.
○During the same period, the poorest 50 per cent used only 4 per cent of the carbon budget.
- The richest 1 per cent depleted the global carbon budget for 1.5 degrees Celsius by 9 per cent;
- While the richest 10 per cent accounted for 46 per cent of emissions growth, the poorest 50 per cent accounted for only 6 per cent.
- Largest share of emissions by the rich was from flights and cars, including private jets, luxury SUVs and sports cars, the report said.
- The report underlined the need to focus on clipping emissions of the richest 10 per cent:
○Reduction of the per capita footprint to the 1.5°C-consistent level by 2030 would cut annual carbon emissions by over a third.
- About half of the emissions of the richest 10 per cent are associated with North America and the European Union (EU).
- This is consistent with Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment’s analysis of the carbon budget in 2018,
○according to which an Indian emitted only 1.97 tonnes carbon dioxide (tCO2) annually, while Americans and Canadians both emitted well over 16 tCO2.
- India’s per capita emissions were a fraction of not just the EU (6.78 tCO2 / person), but also China (7.95 tCO2 / person), making it the lowest per capita emitter amongst the world’s large economies.
- Additionally, the per capita CO2 emissions of the richest 10 per cent Indians were about 4.4 tonnes in 2018.
- In comparison, the per capita emissions of the richest 10 per cent Americans were 52.4 tonnes — almost 12 times that of the richest Indians.
- The report briefly acknowledged the intersectionality of income inequality and the climate crisis with factors such as race, class, gender, caste and age.
- The report highlighted the need for systemic change rather than a sole focus on individual action and called for “new economic models that don’t depend on the endless growth in consumption of the already affluent”.
SRC : DTE